Persona 4: Narukami's Journey
by KeyToUnivers
Summary: Fellow Yu Narukami and his friends in their adventures through the TV world to solve the cases in Inaba. My first persona 4 fanfiction and a novelisation of the original game. Rated T for language. And of course, reviews are always appreciated. UPDATE: Chapter 1-7 REWROTE, check them out!
1. Welcome to Inaba

_**(Disclaimer: I don't own P4, Golden or Animation.)**_

_**So here we go. This'll be a novelization of Persona 4 and also the beginning of a re-write of my seven first chapters including this one: when I first posted the story, I was far from having the experience I have right now, and I owe most of it to you guys, thanks.**_

_**Of course, it will contain some ideas of my own. First things first, Yu=OOC (His personality will be somewhat cold and unfriendly, but most of all, confusing… you'll see by yourself).**_

_**I'll introduce some pairings in this story later as well and make sure that nobody in the team stay single. Let's begin.**_

* * *

**Welcome to Inaba**

_Normal POV:_

All of this began in a foggy place, foggy, empty and unknown, to the point you would think you arrived in another world, or, reached the limits of another dimension.

From the distance, you could distinguish a silhouette approaching. The silhouette in question revealed itself to be a car; a limousine after taking a good look. It had an unpredictable destination.

Inside of it, there was an old man dressed in elegant clothes; a black suit, that had in its upper pocket a handkerchief, one of those that only noble people had, and a pair of elegant white gloves. Next to him, there was a young woman with blond hair and yellow eyes, dressed all in blue with a huge book that she placed on her legs.

The gentlemen, who completely revealed his face, had a very long nose and a creepy smile. He had big, scary and disturbing eyes. He looked at his opposite side to face a young man sitting there with his terrible expression.

The young man, in question, was a silverette, with silver eyes and dressed in a black jacket and a grey shirt with buttons and black pants.

"Welcome to the Velvet room my dear guest, my name is Igor and I am here to make your acquaintances. Let me introduce to you my assistant Margaret." The old man, now known as Igor, said while gesturing his hand towards the young woman.

"Pleased to meet you. I am here to accompany you through your journey." Margaret said, introducing herself, too.

"Now how about you introduce yourself as well?" the creepy man asked.

"My name is Yu Narukami." The silver-haired youth replied.

Igor, then, made some cards appear on the table in front of him.

"Let's take a look into your future, shall we? Do you believe in fortune telling? Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the results are different… Look a lot like life, doesn't it."

He randomly picked up one card before speaking again "Hn… The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. A terrible catastrophe is imminent."

Then, he picked one more card "The Moon in the upright position means 'hesitation' and 'mystery'. A misfortune is waiting at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed to you. You'll come back here after entering into some sort of contract. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. That is why I am here, to provide assistance to our guests so that don't happen. We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell…"

_Yu's POV:_

Geez, so my parents did hate me that much to send me to this shit-hole, how was it called already? Inaba. I was waiting for my uncle at the station which was as empty as my stomach; I completely forgot to have a snack the way here.

But then, a moment later, a middle-aged man came alongside a little girl. He was walking towards me.

"Hi, you must be Yu (worst joke ever). I am your uncle, Ryotaro Dojima." The man said while extending his hand to me.

"Nice to meet you." I replied, shaking it.

"Actually, we already met, but you were just a baby so you surely don't remember." My uncle précised.

And then, he looked at the girl who was with him "C'mon Nanako, say hello to your cousin."

"Hello." The little girl said shyly, before hiding behind her father.

"Hi." I greeted while waving to her.

"What are you so shy for, Nanako." Dojima-san teased her before she gave him a little hit in the back, which he didn't mind.

"By the way, we should get going now." We moved to Dojima-san's car and got in, he drove until we reached a gas station then he stopped: Nanako needed the bathroom and he needed his car filled.

The attendant came to meet us "Hi, welcome to Moel."

"Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" Dojima asked Nanako to which she just nodded.

The both of them got out of the car. The attendant looked Nanako's way and gave her the direction to her destination "It's in the back to your left. Do you know which way's the left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in."

"I know… geez…"

Finally, I decided to get out as well. The attendant noticed me and asked my uncle "Are you taking a trip?"

"No, we just went to pick him up. He just moved here from the big city. And fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine."

"Right away, sir."

Dojima-san took this opportunity to have a 'smoke' like he said. While filling up the car, the attendant turned his attention to me and he asked me.

"Are you in high school?"

"yeah." I responded

"You will be impressed how little things there is to do here. You'll surely get bored quickly, so you'll be occupied either hanging out with your friend or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we are actually searching for a part-time help. Give it some thought, why don't you? Plus, we don't mind if you are a student." He extended his hand, wanting me to shake it. There was no need to embarrass him, so I did as he wanted. Even though, I'm not planning to take the job.

"Okay, I should get back to work." He said, with a suspicious smile. Weird… I feel all dizzy all of a sudden, could it be due to the trip? By the way, my uncle and cousin came back so we continue our way until we reached home. So, this is where I'll live for the whole year.

We entered, left our shoes on the wooden floor and walked to the living room where sat down to have dinner.

"All right, let's have a toast…" The mid-aged man said. "So, your parents are working overseas, right? It's only for a year but still, getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents… It's rough being a kid. Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having you around. As long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself home."

"Well, thank you, uncle."

"No need to be so formal, see? You make Nanako all tense." He sure like to tease his daughter "Now, let's eat."

*Pip**Pip**Pip*

We stopped eating after we heard the sound of a phone: apparently, it was Dojima-san's. He got up and answered.

"…Dojima speaking… All right… So where is it… I'm on my way." Then, he hang up.

"So I was right to skip the booze." He whispered to himself, before turning to us.

"Sorry, I gotta take care of some business, go ahead and eat without me. Nanako, I am counting on you to help him out."

"…Okay." Well, at first sight, I thought they were a close family, but the way Nanako said 'okay' made me understand that he leave her alone quite often.

Dojima gone, Nanako turned the TV on. We were just in time to see the weather report. I forgot that Inaba was rainy most of the year. I didn't like to see a child being sad, especially because of their parents.

I asked Nanako about her father's job, just to start a conversation, hoping to make her more at ease. She told me that Dojima-san was a detective. She still had that sad pinche in her voice, and she was still uneasy around me. Well, what did I expect? The girl's alone most of the time and she just got to know me.

Then, it was the news report time. It seems a certain Taro Namatame, who was the city's council secretary, was fired because of a relationship with a reporter Mayumi Yamano. Always boring, huh?

"This is boring." Is she reading my mind? Whatever, she changed the channel. There was a commercial spot.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your June~s!" For the first time, my cousin's face brighten up. She smiled and singed the commercial song again.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Well, she seems to like this song. I'd better eat now so I can get some sleep. *yawn* Gosh, I'm tired.

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_**I guess that's it for this first chapter. Did you guys enjoy the rewrite? Do R&amp;R, please!**_


	2. First day of school

_**Here we go! The new chapter 2 is just waiting for you to read. Enjoy.**_

_**Yu's stats:**_

_**Knowledge: maxed**_

_**Courage: maxed**_

_**Diligence: maxed**_

_**Understanding: maxed (even if he acts like an ass most of the time)**_

_**Expression: maxed**_

* * *

**First day of school**

_Yu's POV:_

After eating my dinner with Nanako, we went upstairs and she showed me where my room was supposed to be before returning to watch the TV. I entered, there was all my things here: uniform, my favorites detective stories, school things… And it seems that my uncle installed a TV here as well. Finally, the important thing for the moment; my futon. I didn't take too long to fall asleep, I really was tired. I dreamed of… a foggy place? There was too much fog that I could barely watch my steps, I randomly proceeded forward slowly.

"Do you seek the truth…? If it's the truth you desire, come and find me." What the hell?! Am I hearing voices, now? It's so damn crazy. Anyways, I continued my way: more fog, more disturbing ambiances.

Until I reached a strange door. I hesitated for a moment: should I throw myself inside whatever waits for me, or just turn back and run away? My choice was the first option.

I opened it and then, I was welcomed by thicker fog and, I had a katana in my hands?! There was someone else in here but, I couldn't see his face: he was hidden by this fog, I could barely see a silhouette.

"So… You are the one pursuing me. Hmhmhm… Try all you like." Without knowing why, I ran toward him to attack with my weapon. I nailed him, but not too much.

"Hnnn… it seems you can see a little despite the fog. You indeed possess an interesting quality… But catching me is a way harder than you think… The truth is not a simple thing to seek." The fog just became thicker than before, I completely loosed track of the voice. After he add some random lines, all the fog transformed into darkness.

Shortly after, I woke up. Nanako was calling me to go down and have my breakfast. I tried my best to forget about all these bullshits, and try to enjoy my moment before going to school. Today is my first day here, in Inaba.

I easily found my way there, thanks to Nanako who guided me through what she called the Samegawa Flood Plain. But, we eventually parted ways, since primary school was in another direction. If I wanted to reach high school, Nanako told me to continue straight from where we separated.

Yasogami High School, huh. I wonder what kind of life awaits me here…

"Wow, wow! Look out!" A crazy cycling guy drove some inched away from me, almost killing himself and damaging his weak spot… ouch.

Maybe he'll survive, better get to class now. I entered at the same time as the teacher,Morooka-sensei, who was talking… like an asshole.

"Awright, shut your traps!" The whole class looked all scared, he really was a monster "I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first, just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as driven snow!"

I agree that nowadays student really are immature, but his words just… sucks, he could find better adjectives.

"I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transferred student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a looser as he was there. So you girls better not getting any ideas about hitting on him. Tell'em your name, kid, and make it quick." The hell was that?! Did that son of a bitch called me a sad sack AND a loser?!

He won't get away with this, he's so dead "Who are you calling a looser, mister?!" It seems I surprised the others by replying this way.

"Hrnh… that's it, you're on my shit list. Effective immediately. Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You better-" I cut him in the middle of his sentence, just to piss him off.

"Pervert and asshole? No one asked you to introduce yourself, you know." The whole class looked in shock. It was like they were watching a fight between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee.

"That's it! Nowadays kids really are imbeciles and insolent. Maybe I'll forgive you if you say you're sorry." Who does he think he is? I'm not apologizing to ANYONE… especially not to an asshole with rabbit teeth! Hey, that's a good nickname!

"Wow, wow! What did I do to apologize? I'm not the one who insulted a whole classroom, jerkfacewithrabbitteeth!" thank god and alas at the same time, he didn't understood the little nickname I made for him. But the rest of the class got it, at least since they all began laughing their asses off.

"Aaaaaargh! Why you little punk!"

"So what? Are you going to cry? I bet you can't even fight. But, I can!" I began cracking knuckles. Have I gone too far? He seems to be trembeling.

"Morooka-sensei, can the transferred student sit here?" a short-haired brunette chick said while raising her hand.

"Yes! Get away from me already, you brat!" I hate obeying to orders, but I was getting tired of standing like this. I slowly walked to my seat like a badass, near the girl who spoke for me earlier and sat there. I really humiliated him, serves him right. The girl turned to me and seemed all happy.

"Wow. Just wow. No one ever dared respond to King moron this way, you really are fearless, aren't you?"

I could also hear some students talking.

"Heheh, thank you, transferred student: you just sparred us 15 minutes of his annoying lessons!" said a male student on my left.

"But that's weird though: usually, if someone gets this far with him, he doesn't think twice about suspending him. Could he be scared?" whispered a female student behind me.

"Shut your traps! I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner! Not like the new guy." That moron again?!

"Are you talking to me?!" I said in a menacing tone.

"N-None of your business! I-I was talking about that damn lazy assed Hanamura!"

"You just said it was none of my business and yet, you answered my question. Weird…" this was welcomed by a new round of laughter.

"Let's begin this damn class!" he added, all red with anger and embarrassment.

_After a while_

Classes were finally over, I guess I'd better go home and rest a little. I was about to leave when I heard the school's intercom.

"Attention all teachers. Please report to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice." Said the voice.

The old coot finally left, and shortly after that we could hear sirens. Did King Moron get arrested? No, it would be too good. Some students were trying to see through the windows what was happening, and failed because of… the fog. I gotta forget that dream. There was another announcement.

"Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school zone."

An incident? I wonder what kind of incident is this. The others looked all excited; some weirdoes they are. Before I could leave, the girl who interrupted my little 'discussion' with the teacher called me, she was with another girl that had long black-hair and a red vest.

"Hey, are you going home by yourself? Why don't you come with us? Nearly forgot, I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit next to you, right?"

"Right. The name's Yu Narukami, be sure to get this memorized." I answered.

(Red haired man with black coat: Hey! That's my line!)

"Well, nice to meet you! This is Yukiko Amagi." She said, introducing her friend.

"Oh, nice to meet you… I'm sorry this is so sudden…" her behavior reminded me of a… Nerd? (A/N: Running gag coming…)

"C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing. I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all." The girl called Chie said. It's almost funny to see, we were about to leave, but the crazy driver of the morning came. He had something to tell Chie-san.

"Umm… Miss Satonaka…? I really liked the movie and… I'm sorry! It was an accident! Please have mercy until my next paycheck! See ya thanks!" …Weirdo!

"Stop right there, what did you do to my DVD?!" The guy tried to run away, but Chie-san kicked him where… you know! Not bad at all, she's quite strong.

Then, she found what she feared to find; her DVD was completely cracked "It's completely cracked… My 'Trial of the Dragon'…!"

"Mine cracked too…Critical hit to the nads." Poor guy… Looks like someone won't have many chances to meet his kids, later.

"Are you all right?" Yukiko-san asked, concerned about him it seems.

"Let's just ditch him." The brunette female proposed, almost ordering. Geez, it's his second time getting his "nads" in danger. At this point, he won't be able to reproduce.

Chie-san, Yukiko-san and I got out of the school. Once we reached the gates, a weird guy with fish-like eyes, Came to us, he seems to be a student of another school. He was focused on Yukiko-san.

"You're Yuki, right? Wanna hang out somewhere?"

"What…? W-Who are you?" Students begined to gather around us, it seems Yukiko-san get this kind of invitations often. A student mentioned something like 'The Amagi Challenge'. Personally, I think Yukiko-san looks like any nerd— er, girl, but not in bad way.

"Are you coming or not?" the dude was beginning to lose patience, but the raven-haired girl wasn't planning to go with him.

"…I'm not going."He immediately ran off, like a bitch. Again, he just got rejected.

"What did he want?" the Amagi girl asked oblivious to what the unknown guy's intention were. She seems to more naïve than I thought…

"What do you mean by that… He was obviously asking you on a date." Her friend answered her, obviously shocked by her cluelessness as well. Then, the guy from before, the one who got his balls kicked, came near us. Grabbing his damaged bike with him.

"Yo, Yukiko. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh? You're mean… You got me the same way last year."

"I don't recall that."

"Seriously? Then, you wanna hang out sometime?!"

"…I'd rather not." *baf* on your face, noobcake!

"That'll teach me to get my hopes up. Anyways, you two better not pick on the new guy too much." That dude is thinking that he'll get away with this so easily?!

"Well at least I am kind of interesting, unlike you lovelorn." I don't know if he heard me. He left, and we resume our walk. The both of them, or especially Chie-san, asked me some questions about life in the big city and why I moved here.

"Well, here in Inaba there's nothing that is really impressive… Oh, there is the Amagi inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

"Oh, no it's just… an old inn."

"No way, it is known as a hidden treasure. It's a great inn and it's been going for generations. And Yukiko here will take over someday. Thanks to it, a lot of visitors come here, it keeps this town going. So, tell me. You think Yukiko is cute, huh?"

Ahah! I saw it coming! So, Chie-san wants to embarrass me, or Yukiko, whatever. She can't fool me, here's something for you, short-haired.

"Meh… I guess you're more my type, Chie-san. I think you're kind of cute." Chie-san blushed a so bright red, I succeeded in embarassing her.

"I-It's not the same thing. Yukiko is popular at school, a-and I…I…" I think she is taking it too seriously: I should stop the joke now.

"Hehe, don't worry. I was just teasing you." Yukiko began laughing so hard that you would think she would explode anytime, she began getting on my nerves and the word 'nerd' popped in my head. As for Chie, she really looked kind of sad: She sure isn't getting a lot of romantic compliments.

Before we could continue this pleasant discussion, we reached a street where we noticed a lot of movements. We saw some police cars that were parked all around the place and a crowd of people talking about what happened.

A dead boddy was found… hanging in an antenna?! Wow, even with all the detective books and movies I owned, I never read or saw a thing like that. As if the coincidences were too low, my uncle was here as well, he's a detective, you'll say. One day, I'll become a detective too! That's my lifetime goal!

"Hey, what are you doing here?" It seems like Dojima-san noticed our presence.

"Just passing by." I answered simply. He looked in the distance and began cursing.

"Damn principal, we told him not to let them go here…"

"You know him?" Chie asked.

"Yeah, let me introduce Dojima-san, my uncle, to you. I'm staying with him for my year here, in Inaba." After the introductions were done, my uncle asked us to stop hanging out around the area and to head straight home.

A man with black hair and dark-blue suit made his way through the crowd and ran behind a car to... vomit.

"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie? *sigh* Go wash your face." The man seemed to be my uncle's bitch… er, I mean, partner! If he really was from the police, then I can say that Inaba is far from being safe…

After that, Chie and Yukiko went their own way and I mine. Nanako was alone at home, and I could understand why. The news explained all what happened before: The announcer, Mayumi Yamano, actually was the dead body hanging on the antenna. What was strange was that the police couldn't identify the causes of the death.

Nanako looked upset that her father would be, once again, away for a good part of the night. Thank god, the Junes commercial began. She singed just like last time.

"Every day's great at your June~s!" She looked at me expectantly. So, I repeated the song.

"You memorized it already? I am the best singer in my class, you know?" She sang the song again and again; she forgot the story, good thing!

* * *

_**Well, the chapter 2 has been re-made! What did you think of it? Next, Yu will try to prove himself as a detective and search for information about the case, will he succeed?**_

_**P.S: If I'm rewriting some chapters of this story, it is to make them better: I was still a beginner when I first posted them.**_

_**But, in return, I expect you guys to follow my work and point all the mistakes and incoherence I might put, don't hold back about it! Again, thank you.**_


	3. Midnight Channel

_**Chapter 3: RE-WROTE.**_

* * *

**III\The Midnight Channel**

_Normal POV:_

The next day, Yu woke up and, after getting ready, got on his way to school. Just like on his first day, the guy that got kicked by Chie because of him breaking her favorite movie disk, lost control of his bike and landed where he should have been from the beginning; The garbage can!

Yu wanted to ignore him again, but when he thought of that the poor guy could be humiliated, and even bullied, because of this, he decided to help him getting out of this shit, literally. The brunette looked at him and had a big grin on his face.

"Wow thanks, dude! You really save me, you know?"

"Whatever…"

The rest of the way to school, Yosuke kept talking about the murder case merely touching some point Yu already thought about, so his main answer during the discussion was 'whatever'. At least they got to their class before the teacher who, again, was Mr. Moron.

During the whole lecture, Yu just sat on his chair and waited for bell to ring. After it happened, he was about to leave school and kick it home, but Yosuke approached him.

"Hey, man. I still didn't thank properly for helping me: how about I treat you to some," the silverette noticed that Chie just passed in front of them, and pretended not seeing them, surely because of Hanamura "Grilled steak!"

Then, Chie turned after hearing the 'S' word and her eyes widened just like a cat's "How about me?! Don't you owe me something already? I really liked my 'Trial of the Dragon', you know?"

"How comes you always appear when I'm talking about food, and especially steak." Yosuke said almost complaining. But, since he did owe her a movie, the Magician had no choice but to treat her too.

She asked Yukiko to join them, but it seemed like the black-haired had plans already. Yosuke took them to that place that Nanako likes so much, Junes.

And he treated them to something else than steak, much to Chie's anger. Yosuke decided to initiate a conversation with the silver-head.

"So, I heard you're from the big city too, right? I moved her with my family because of my dad getting a promotion to become Junes' manager. The good news is its working pretty well!"

"It even caused some local stores to lock." The lone female added.

Then, a girl who seemed to be an acquaintance of Yosuke came nearby, he immediately ran toward her.

"Who's that chick? Yosuke's girlfriend?" Yu asked.

"Hahah! He wishes! She's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor shop in the shopping district and is a part-time worker here. Weird, huh?"

The both of them came back and the Konishi girl seemed to have noticed the Fool's presence.

"Oh, you must be the new transferred student. I guess you already heard about me. Well, since you come from the big city like Hana-chan, I hope you will be friendly with him, even if he is kind of annoying sometimes."

"Well, since you two, lovebirds, are going to be occupied together, I don't think he will need my help." Yu teasingly said.

They both blushed madly, even if Yosuke seemed all happy for some reasons. As for Chie, she was laughing her ass off.

"H-Hana-chan and I are just friends, n-nothing else." Konichi tried to protest.

"Y-Yeah, I guess…"

After looking at her watch, the part-time worker made her good bye to them "Okay, I should get back to work."

With that, she left. Chie just stopped laughing.

"Oh god, you really know where to hit Yu. You got me the same way yesterday."

"Yu…," Yosuke said "You're my savior dude! Now, I can bet that Saki-senpai like me too—Oups!" Chie didn't miss hearing this and added her own icing on the cream.

"Ooooh! Isn't it the smell of love that has enveloped the area? The son of Junes' manager and the daughter of a local liquor store… the fires of a forbidden love!"

"N-No! I-It's not like that!"

Chie kept teasing Yosuke until she mentioned a "Midnight Channel"; it seems that on rainy nights, at midnight, someone's soul mate appear on the turned off TV's screen. The three students agreed on trying it as soon as possible.

_Yu's POV:_

I returned home and yet again, Nanako was alone. I sat down, and shortly after, Dojima-san was home. He asked Nanako to turn on the TV to the news, and they showed an interview with the person who found the announcer's body.

Even though her face was indistinct, I recognized Konichi-senpai. After the news and Nanako's usual song, I got up and went to my room. Midnight is still far, so I'll try to revise this case.

So, everything started with the announcer hanging on the antenna, dead. When her body was analyzed, there were not the usual symptoms: no physical violence, no poison… Could it have been a suicide? No, nothing proved that she was paranoiac or had intentions for doing this. So how?

I tried every single way I could think of to identify the case until…

*tic**toc**tic**toc*

It's almost midnight, this midnight channel and this story of soul mate… Wait a sec! A student said yesterday in the morning that he saw Ms. Yamano in this exact Midnight Channel, I remember now. And she is found dead a day after she appear on that channel, isn't it strange? I guess I should definitely try it.

Tonight is rainy and I CAN'T believe I'm actually trying this. Stupid Chie and her stupid childish games. But, I'm more here to try to prove that this channel has something to do with Ms. Yamano than anything else.

It is midnight and nothing's appearing… As expected. I was about to go and get some sleep when _'Oh, wait! What's that? The screen is turning on by itself and, the person appearing is… Saki Konishi!?'_

If my deduction is correct, could she be the next person to die? Uuurgh! My head! It hurt! I'm hearing a voice.

_I am thou. Thou art I. Thou art the one who opens the door._

What is all this about? By the time, the image on the screen was gone. I tried to touch it but, my hand just went through it! And it was sucking me! I struggled for awhile and finally pulled back out of it, and hit my head against the table. I guess I was too noisy.

"Are you okay?" asked Nanako's voice.

"Err… I'm fine, did I wake you up?"

"No, good night."

Gosh, if I dare mention that tomorrow, I'll sound like a freak of the nature. I guess I'll keep it for me, for now.

_~The next day, after school~_

Once the class was over, Chie, Yosuke and I gathered and discussed what we saw last night. As expected from me, we saw the exact same person.

"My soul mate… a girl? I wonder what that's supposed to mean." Chie exclaimed.

"Chie, are you blind or something? The girl was definitely Saki Konishi."

Both of them looked at me in surprise.

"I thought about that. So I'm not the only one." Yosuke agreed.

"We have the same soul mate… Eurk! Disgusting!" the Chariot said as disturbing images was running through her head since she was blushing. I decided to open their eyes a little more

"Soul mate thing aside, didn't you notice that before dying, ms. Yamano was seen on the Midnight Channel too? Does that mean that Konishi-senpai is targeted too?"

They stayed like this, stunned.

"L-Let's not think about something like that, okay? By the way, my family is looking for a bigger TV, do you have something like that at Junes, Yosuke?"

"I guess so, wanna come and check?"

"Yes. Are you joining us, Yu?"

"Yeah, whatever…"

I don't know why and how, but I think that this Midnight Channel thing and the murder are somehow connected.

* * *

_**Alright, did you like it? Yu seems to be getting to an important point of the case. In the next chapter, we'll fellow Chie through her quest of getting a TV. Will she find the one with good resolution and quality? We'll discover it in the next episode of Chie's TV… Errr, I mean "Persona 4".**_


	4. A world inside the TV

_**Chapter 4: RE-WROTE!**_

* * *

**IV\A world inside the TV**

_Yu's POV:_

We were going to Junes to help Chie in her choice of a new TV. I couldn't help but to think about how I almost got sucked inside mine, and about the strange voice I heard.

While the two were arguing about the prices, my eyes rested on a particularly large TV. As I was looking myself through the black screen, my hand extended without me noticing it…

Before I knew it, it touched it and the same thing as yesterday happened: my hand just got through it.

After a moment, Yosuke turned to ask my opinion on whatever he and Chie were arguing about, and the two of them saw it; they saw what was happening.

"The hell is this?! Tell me where's the trick?" a panicking Satonaka asked.

"It's not a trick. My hand really went through that screen."

"Wow! I wanna pee!" … Shit, Yosuke. Just Shit! I'm having my hand in another dimension and all you're thinking about is using the toilets?!

"Do you really think this is the time for this?"

Maybe I can make my head got through the TV too, so I would be able to see something. Ignoring my classmates' warnings, I did as I thought.

As soon as my head touched the TV, the space around my point of view became nothing but blank void. I stayed like this until I felt something pushing me completely inside and I began falling.

I landed on my ass, hardly. And it seems the thing that pushed me was Yosuke being pushed himself by Chie who landed here too. Talking about 'here', where are we? The place is all foggy, but I can distinguish some cameras, projectors and all kinds of tools that reminded of a studio… Is someone spying on us? And if so, who?

I got on my feet and turned to look at the others, they were still on the ground.

"Are you still alive or should I prepare your graves?" I asked them in this harsh way to get them back on their feet faster.

"I'm fine, I guess?"

"Same here."

Most to Chie's disagreement, I ordered them to fellow me to investigate the area. We randomly proceeded through this place until we reached stairs. We took them and reached a room, something like a bed room. Seeing the blood all over the place, the two pussies began to scream.

"Shut the hell up you cowards!" I yelled.

Finally, some silence. I could see, out of the blood and stuff, some posters that represented the same person each time, in a kimono. But, a part of it was shattered, the face's part… just great. And there were a chair and a rope; is someone about to commit suicide? Or already did?

"I saw this poster somewhere." Did Satonaka say something useful?

"And where exactly?" I questioned.

"I can't remember…" serves me right to get my hopes up.

"Sooo useful!"

"I can't… hold it… anymore!" Chie and I turned to see a panicking Yosuke who wanted to pee more than anything.

"You can't do it now!" Chie scolded.

"Urgh! Both of you get out of here!" We ignored his order and stayed here, embarrassing him.

"Shit! If my bladder bursts, it'll all be your fault."

"Yosuke…" I began

"What is it?"

"Shut up."

The two then took a look at the suicide tools; they finally noticed them. After we agreed, we returned to our starting point. We easily found our way back there and we began searching around for a way back home, when suddenly, we saw a silhouette in the distance: someone's coming!

We got ready to face whoever was approaching; the silhouette was kind of small, and round. It looked like a…. a bear? A blue bear? The hell's happening?!

The animal was wearing some weird red clothes and we could see behind him a zipper; maybe it was all just a costume!

"Hey!" he said "What are you guys?"

"No! What are you first?!" I demanded, making him cowering in fear, what a joke! After we questioned him some more, he told us to return from where we came, but especially, he mentioned that someone has been 'throwing' people in here. He didn't add anything else and made some TVs appear out of nowhere then, he pushed us inside them.

We landed back at Junes, exactly where we were before. We stood up and I noticed next to a TV, a poster; exactly the same as the ones in the weird room. The others saw it too.

"Hey," Chie spoke loudly "isn't Misuzu Hiiragi? And this poster isn't it the one we saw in the room?"

"They are the same indeed. It MUST have some kind of connection…" I noted.

"Brrrr! It's too much for my heart!" Hanamura complained.

"Yeah, I guess we're done for today." Satonaka approved "Bye." With that, Yosuke and her ran out of the store. They're scared already? Hmph… cowards. I returned home as fast as I could, it sure was rainy.

My uncle was already here, good thing for my cousin. He asked me if I knew Saki Konichi and I told him what I knew: I didn't see her at school today. He informed me that she disappeared and haven't been found yet.

My attention was once again attracted by the TV: it was the news time. The news report stated that Ms. Yamano has been staying at the Amagi inn; Yukiko's family's inn. As for the weather, there will be more fog tomorrow. I begin to think that the fog have something to do with this case… hahahah! Those silly thoughts of mine… I'm too tired to think right now, I'd better get some sleep.

_~The next day, in the morning~_

When I got downstairs, Dojima-san rushed out saying that he had some business, something was up. On my way to school, there were gossips about an incident. The principal called us all for an assembly. And there, I understood what happened; Saki Konichi was found dead, and the circumstances of her death are similar to Mayumi Yamano's own. It's can't be just a coincidence.

Through more gossips, I learned that Konishi-senpai appeared again in the Midnight Channel last night, there was indeed rain. When I think about it, Yamano appeared too before dying, so I was right to think about a connection between the murder and the Midnight Channel. What if the Midnight Channel itself was connected to this world inside the TV, the blue bear said that someone has been throwing people inside this world… I gotta make sure of this and check it out, one more time.

When I met up with Chie and Yosuke, it seemed like the headphone guy got to the same theory as me and he wanted to return to the 'other world'.

"Are you crazy?!" shout Chie "Last time we barely got away from it and NOW you wanna go back there?!"

"But who knows? Maybe we'll find some important clues and, just maybe, we could finally catch the one who did this to senpai…"

"Yosuke…" it seemed like the green jacket wearing girl understood Yosuke a little more.

"Let's just see what we can do…" I suggested, causing Yosuke to switch from a dramatic mood to a happy one.

"Okay! See ya there!" with that, he ran to Junes with the speed of light.

When we joined him at there, he was holding a golf club and a rope.

"Idiot!" Chie yelled "We are here to stop you!"

"I can't just pretend that I have nothing to do with this, now can I? Plus, I prepared this rope so you stay here and once we're done there, you'll just have to get us out of—" this guy's definitely an imbecile.

"Are you an imbecile?!" I argued "This rope is way too short. Don't you remember how we fall last time?!"

"Yeah! I agree with him!" Chie said, totally seeing what I meant.

"If we want to come back, why don't we use the TVs the bear created last time?" I pointed.

And so, we entered. Chie, who didn't want to stay alone, came along. As we thought, we found ourselves at the same place as last time, except that the TVs were no more here nor the bear.

Oh! I talked too early. Here he comes and he sure looks angry for some reasons.

"It's your second time here! Grrrr, I knew you were the ones behind this. You're the ones who throw people here, right?"

"Shut up."

"Wait, when he says 'someone throwing people' is this someone the one who threw Konishi and Yamano?" the brunette girl asked us, completely ignoring the animal.

"Surely. He must be the one killing them." Yosuke accused.

"Hey! Do you know that you're doomed? There no way back from here to your world!" the bear menaced.

"And once we're done investigating this place, you're going to let us out, just like last time, got it?" I menaced him back.

"Grrrrrr! I'm the one investigating here. If you really are innocent, then prove it!" he demanded.

"I already told you to shut up!" I shout, clenching my fists and raising my voice against him.

"G-G-Getting mad won't solve a-a-anything." He replied, scared by my violent ways.

We somehow managed to explain our situation to that stupid bear. And he told us about things called 'Shadows'. Whatever it is, it seems dangerous. Yosuke lost patience and got the bear's head of… And the inside was empty! He took his head back and putted it on him.

"Okay, I'm going to believe that you aren't the culprits. But, promise me that you'll find the true one or else… I'm not letting you, guys, outta here. Please!" He began crying, this damn bear. The old man, Igor, told me about a misfortune and a mystery, could it be it? And the contract, could it be done if I promise to this bear?

"Looks like we've got no choice…" I said, causing my two comrades to glare at me, but I decided to ignore them.

"Thank you!"

"But hold on, I'm not working with a stranger, so introduce youself first!" I ordered.

"I'm Teddie." He said cheerfully.

I asked him if he had any track and it seems like he knows where Konishi-senpai was when she was 'thrown' here.

"Oh! And take this!" He gave us glasses and when we putted them on, we were able to see through the fog. Maybe this bear will be somehow useful after all.

"And by the way," he added "you'll have to defend yourselves, because I can't fight."

I didn't really cared about that, but the others couldn't buy it for a sec. Chie came closer to Teddie and gave him a little kick… which put him K.O; He really couldn't fight.

We helped him to get up and headed toward the place he indicated, slowly but surely. Who knows what awaits us there.

* * *

_**That should do it for the 4**__**th**__** chapter. Our heroes encountered a mysterious bear named Teddie in a world inside the TV, can they really trust him? Who is the culprit behind the murders in Inaba? Stay one for the next epic episode of Dragon ball-… Err I mean "Persona 4"!**_

_**Do review, follow and even fav: it's always good to know what people think about the story so I can know if I'm in the right way. And if you're going to read the next chapters, I would recommend that you wait a moment before I rewrite most of them: you will be easily bored because of my old writing style. Thanks for your patience and your attention, enjoy!**_


	5. Face yourselves

_**Chapter 5… re-wrote, I guess.**_

* * *

**V\Face yourselves**

As we proceeded through this strange world with this stupid bear as a guide, I began to recognize a place, a place of the real world: the Shopping District of Inaba. Does this world reproduce places from the other side? When we asked the bear about it, he said that places which never existed here before began to appear. Are these places somehow linked to the victims? Suddenly, Yosuke began to speak.

"If this is really the shopping district, then the liquor store of Saki-senpai's…" He ran off without ending his sentence. We ran behind him and obviously, he stopped in front of the liquor store's replica. Then, Teddie started to panic.

"T-T-They're here: the Shadows!"

Indeed, something appeared from the dark entrance of the store's replica. There were two slim-like creatures with strange blue mask for each one. They then transformed into balls or whatever it was. I felt a big pain in my head, even bigger than the one I got two days ago. I heard the weird voice again.

_I am thou, and thou art I…_

And against my will, I began pronouncing something.

"Per—" the monsters were beginning to get closer

"so—" one of them chose Chie as his victim and licked her with his giant tongue, covering her with saliva and causing her to yell out of disgust and pass out. A card also appeared and descended slowly to my extended hand's palm.

"na!" As I finished saying this, the card reached my hand and I crushed it. A samurai-like monster/soldier materialized behind me. It looked like he was on my side since he got rid of all the 'Shadows' in no time with his giant sword and some thunderbolt attacks. After that, I felt like he entered inside of my mind, I gotta make sure of this.

"_Who are you?" _I asked in my mind.

"_I am Izanagi, Master Yu Narukami, and your Persona." _He replied with respect. Izanagi… Isn't it the name of the god who created Japan a long time ago? I remember reading something in a random book about him and his wife, Izanami. But I do wonder what's a 'Persona', actually.

Anyways, the others were totally stunned after what they saw. Yosuke did wait too long before asking.

"W-What was that thing? Dude! That was unbelievable!"

"Calm down, you're troubling Sensei!" Teddie said, calling ME sensei!

"S-Sensei…?!" the brunette repeated surprised.

"Wow! You were amazing Sensei, your power was incredible too. Are you the one allowing people to enter here?" I just nodded. Could this mean that whoever can summon these 'Personas' things can go through TVs?

The bear that accused me of being a killer some minutes ago is now talking to me with all the respect a lord deserve. Yosuke didn't really appreciate the fact that Mr. Bear called 'Sensei' and just addressed to him as a normal person. And Chie just woke up from her slumber, so we had to tell her all what happened while she was taking her nap.

We then got back to the serious business at hand and decided to enter the store. As we approached the entrance, voices were heard coming from everywhere.

"_Junes is a real trouble for us. It seems Konishi-san's daughter is working part-time there. The poor man, having his own daughter working for the enemy… she's a real traitor." _This was enough for Yosuke to get upset.

"This place is reality for those who are here. Maybe this is how the person you're looking for's reality."

"… Senpai…" Yosuke whispered, his face covered in sadness and guilt.

We finally entered the store. From what Chie said this look exactly like the real one. Yet again, we heard another voice, this time, it sounded like a man yelling.

"_Saki, you heard the neighbors, right?! This store has been owned for generations, and you want to erase it?! Of all places, why did you choose __**this one**__?! Is it for money, or for this __**Yosuke**__ kid?!"_ the voice yelled, saying my classmate's name with venom proving his hate towards him.

When I first met Yosuke, I never thought I would feel so sorry for him. But now, it is another matter. He really must have had some kind of feelings for the girl. We saw a picture on a table; there was Yosuke, Konishi-senpai and other part-timers recognizable by their work outfit. We heard then another voice, a voice that looked like Konishi-senpai's.

"_I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…"_ the beginning of the speech made the said Hana-chan look above of him and tremble, anxious to know what Konishi-senpai **actually** thought about him _"That he was a real pain in the ass! He got the wrong ideas just because I was nice to him. If I did this, if I have been nice with him, it was just because he was the manager's son. Because of Junes, my whole life is doomed!"_

What followed the harsh words was Yosuke, falling to his knees and mumbling something, surely repeating the words he just heard: this was the Coup De Grace for him, he completely shattered.

"I feel so sorry for myself… Bouhouhou…" was he saying something?!

"Yosuke, what are you saying?!" Chie demanded.

"I didn't say anything…" he replied, turning to face us. We all turned to see what or who talked, and it turned out there where two Yosuke: the normal one with us, and one with a dark aura and golden eyes.

His shinning golden eyes were resting on the other Yosuke with an expression that matched the rest of his face: his crooked smile that gave him an evil look, his eyebrows that were drawn in a frown… he definitely was mocking and pitying the other one. He looked so realistic and serious and the aura around him was an extra to make you tremble with fear.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one who thinks everything is a pain in the ass? You don't care about anything, now do you? Not even Saki-senpai…" the other teen was looking helplessly at him.

"S-S-Stop… it…" he barely managed to whisper, but the monster form just ignored him and proceeded.

"You just came here out of boredom: countryside is boring, your whole life is boring! And also because a world inside the TV— Now, THAT's interesting! Maybe you could even be a hero!"

"Enough! Whoever you are shut up!" Chie shout, stepping in the conversation and defending Yosuke.

"Oh! Maybe you worth better, bitch!" When we faced the owner of the other voice, we encountered another replica; this time of Chie. It had the same characteristic as Yosuke's clone: an intimidating and mocking look!

"You pretend you want to protect your friends, but it is more like you're manipulating them… especially Yukiko!" Now, it was Chie's turn to tremble in front of her own clone and I, in the middle of this, was mostly confused: what were those clones? They seem to have a critical impact on their other self: is it because of the resemblance, or maybe…

"Oh! Yukiko is my best friend, but she would be nothing…**nothing!** Without me to guide her: I'm the marionette owner and she is my loyal puppet! *chuckles* did I say 'loyal'? Hahahahahah!" this was worth being called the straw that broke the camel's back: the two others moved from fear to anger.

"You have nothing to do with us, fakes!"

"Hahahahahah! Say it again!"

"Son of a bitch! You… you're not me!" Yosuke shout at his illusion.

"Yeah, get lost already. YOU are the bitch!" Chie did the same with hers

It was just what they wanted to hear: The two replicas absorbed all the dark auras around them and turned into two monsters: one was frog-like monster and the other a female samurai with a banana-like helmet sitting on a bunch of zombie-like girls.

"We are Shadows, the true selves." So, these things are Shadow too?! And that would explain why the others were panicking when they were speaking: all what they said was the truth, their reality!

Just as the Shadows transformed, Yosuke and Chie fell unconscious. Quickly, I concentrate and made the card appear again then crushed it. Izanagi materialized again.

"Izanagi, take care of this banana hat! I'll be able to handle the frog."

"As you wish, Master."

I guess the golf club will be useful after all. Just like Yosuke himself, his Shadow was really predictable: his attacks were easy to dodge: a simple jump backward and voila, all I had to do next was counter-attack.

"Just like Yosuke himself, you're not requiring any brain to be defeated…" he took my provocation in a rather carefree way.

"Oh, but I have more than a surprise down my sleeve: I'll destroy anything that bores me… starting with you!" he said before jumping towards me and landing in front of me, a move that I judge inoffensive.

But, before my eyes could blink, a gust of wind created at the spot where he landed and spread quickly. I was about to put my weapon in front of me to protect me, but I was too slow; the blow hit me and I was sent to crash on a wall of the store, before falling to my knees on the ground.

I would lie if I said that I felt like some of those fighters in books and videogames in the middle of a tough fight. I couldn't help but release a small smile at the thought of it, still catching my breath. Then, I raised my head and searched for Izanagi and the banana Shadow in the room.

Izanagi was fiercely fighting his opponent: with a swing of his sword, he sent the monster flying backward and hit the windows, breaking them and landing outside. My summoned warrior immediately followed the enemy and resumed the fight in-front of the store, out of my point of view.

I slowly got back to my feet, but I quickly dodged to the side: the frog tried to attack me again.

"I almost forgot about you, piece of shit…" I cursed.

"You'll never have to remember me again… once I send you to the other world! Haha—Ugh!" before he finished laughing, I quickly hit him in the throat with the golf club, which proved to be the final strike he'll ever get.

"No, **you** won't need to remember me… once you go to hell!" he fell to the side, lifeless. Now, it's time to see what Izanagi was up to.

He was still fighting Chie's Shadow outside. Corpses were lying all over the fight scene; these were the corpses of the zombies the monster was sitting on earlier. As I was about to step in and lend a hand to my ally, he used one of his thunderbolt and finished his enemy off.

"I guess I'll have to thank you for this one." I said, walking towards him.

"Serving you is my duty, Master." He replied, before disappearing and getting back to my mind.

Finally, the two others got back on their feet. I explained the situation and how I defeated their Shadows. Then, I saw their faces pale in a blink of an eye and I quickly saw why: behind me stood the two Shadows in their humans' shapes.

"Son of a bitch, you're not me." Yosuke shouted at his Shadow. That was enough; I came near him and gave him a strong punch on the face.

"What was that for?!"

"Yosuke… this thing came from you; you have to accept this fact," I explained, and turned to see Chie "and you too Chie."

They stood there for a moment and then, each one moved to face its Shadow.

"Gosh… facing yourself is so embarrassing…" the brunette whispered.

"Agreed, but we have to, someday." Chie approved.

"You are me and I am you" they said in union. The two Shadows faded and there were things, I think they were Personas like Izanagi: one introduced himself as Jiraiya, some kind of frog-ninja, and the other was Tomoe, a female samurai. The both of Yosuke and Chie were exhausted.

" 'A pain in the ass…' Hahah… Such a way to find out. I guess I owe you on this one Yu."

"Yeah, you really saved us this time."

"Konishi-senpai and the announcer maybe died this way…. They refused their Shadows and were attacked…" I deduced.

"Certainly," Teddie confirmed "sometimes the fog lift and the Shadows go berserk. Anyways, this world's not made for humans. You three should go and get some rest."

When we returned to the studio –like place, we got to the point: Ms. Yamano and Konishi-senpai were attacked by their Shadows when the fog cleared after they rejected them. And all this because someone have been throwing people in there. We all agreed to try and prevent this to happen again, since we have our Personas now.

"Guys, are you going to come back?" Teddie asked with a sad tone.

"We promised, didn't we?" I said, with a smile that cost me the surprised looks of the two others.

"… What the f**k did I said wrong?!"

"Dude, it's just it's so unlike you to say something like that…" Yosuke remarked.

"Shut up!" I said, feeling rather uneasy.

"Sensei sure is extremely kind inside." Teddie said with a little blush; like bears could actually blush!

"Urrr! Let's head back anyway!" I ordered. We got out of the TV world, thanks to Mr. Bear, and we all agreed on continuing the case afterward.

On my way home, I saw the Amagi girl, dressed in a kimono. I stopped and talked a little with her. She asked me questions about if I got used to the place and if I got along with Chie and I just answered that things weren't bad.

Then, I returned home. Dojima-san wasn't here yet. After greeting Nanako, I sat down and watched the news; same as usual, the murders. Then, there was an interview with… Yukiko Amagi? She really seemed uneasy, well it's normal: the reporter was jumping from a subject to another.

Anyways, I helped Nanako cleaning some stuff around the house, afterwards. I should get some sleep, I'm awfully tired. I bet Izanagi is too. But first, since tonight is rainy, I'd better check out the Midnight Channel.

Midnight, time to see what will appear. The image was out of focus, but I recognized a silhouette of a girl with long hair and a kimono.

'_Long hair and kimono? Wasn't she? No way! So she was the next target… Yukiko Amagi!'_ I thought.

* * *

_**Done! So the big change here is that Chie came along in the TV world and met her shadow earlier obtaining her Persona at the same time as Yosuke and Yu.**_

_**Do tell me in the reviews section or through PM what you thought about the rewrite of this chapter, especially the fight scene: I guess I improved A LOT since the first time I wrote it (Yeah, so much modesty, I know).**_

_**Anyways, don't forget to Review, Follow, Fav and ENJOY!**_

_**O-ll 2 Univers**_


	6. Social Links

The social links: your bond with the others

_Yu's POV:_

While I was asleep, I dreamed of a familiar place; I'm sure I saw it not so long ago. It was some kind of a limousine in which I was sitting alongside an old man in front of me and a young woman in blue next to him. Now I remember! It is the place I saw when I slept on my way her to Inaba. Weird: usually, I don't dream of the same thing twice. And when I'm here, it feels like I'm not really asleep, I really can't describe that feeling. The old man, Igor, began to speak "Welcome. Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world. I summoned you within your dreams" So this is how they work. Dammit! I want to sleep like everyone! I bet the two other noobs are making sweet dreams as I'm stuck here. The women gave more explanations "Only those who have, in a way or another, entered into a contract can access this place." she added some lines that I didn't understand. The old man made a blue key appear in my hand: it seems it is the key to this place. "And how am I supposed to use it since you summon me in my dreams?" He completely ignored my question since he continued with the explanations "Your destiny will require you to hone your power: you will inevitably require our help for this. And we want only one thing in return: you must abide by your contract and assume the whole responsibility of the decision you make." I didn't completely get it, but again I had no choice. "Okay, I get it. Now, **can you explain me what the fuck are these Persona things?!**" there was an awkward silence for a moment. Finally, Igor decided to answer my question for the first time "A Persona is the façade you wear to face life's hardships, it is another side of yourself that manifest when you need him the most. Your Persona's ability, however, is the one of the wild card. It is a special one compared to the others because it is empty and yet, it's holds infinite potential within it, just like the number 0." What the fuck is he talking about?! I don't get a thing. It seems Mr. Long Nose noticed it. "The Persona's ability is the power to control one's own heart. And the heart itself is strengthened through bonds. By becoming involved with the others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. Their power will determinate your Persona's abilities." Oh god! Please don't tell me that I'll have to make friend with everyone I meet. Come on, Yu. It's only a dream, nothing else. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding, I'll just ask. "Please, can you be clearer." This time, it was the blonde's turn to answer me "Social Links are also necessary to light the way to the truth you are searching for." Igor spoke again "Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you…? I look forward to see that…*chuckle* 'till we meet again." Grrr! He was mocking me! The whole place disappeared again.

I woke up the morning, still thinking about all the weird stuff that happened: First, the murders. Then, the frickin' world inside the TV. And now, I have to suffer even in my dreams. What the hell did I get myself into?! Screw you Igor! And you too Marga-whatever was your name. And like I hadn't enough trouble like this, I had to go to school again. I heard that in other countries, they had two days of week-end, lucky them. I was taken away from my thoughts when I saw Yosuke on his bike… controlling it this time. He noticed me and greeted "Yo. Did you saw what was on the Midnight Channel last night? I wonder who it was…" "Wasn't it the girl in our class, Amagi?" He seemed surprised "Dude, how comes you can guess that?" "Unlike you, noobcake, I make a good use of my eyes!" He looked at me with big eyes "Noobcake? What is this supposed to mean?" "Whatever, listen: long black hair and a kimono, isn't it enough to prove that the victim might be Yukiko? I saw her yesterday wearing one." He thought for awhile then we decided to make sure of this after school. "By the way, I wanted to say: Let's do our best to solve the case, okay partner? With the three of us, it shouldn't be a big deal." This guy sure is a noob but, he got a strong will too. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust him… just a bit though. Hum? I feel a faint surge of power inside me; could it be the thing Long Nose talked about? The Social Links? Now, I think I understand what he meant: the power I sensed sure was something, but there's no way I'm going to play the nice guy around everyone! Anyways, we'd better get to our classrooms now.

We were welcomed by Chie who, just like us, watched the Midnight Channel. "I think the girl was… Yukiko." if she recognized her too, then that means it's definitely her. "Well, this is what I thought myself. Did you try to contact her?" "Yes, this evening. She said she would be at school today. But like you see it, she's not her… Could it mean that she was thrown too?!" Yosuke wasn't sure "I don't know. Let's check this after school. Why don't you try to call her?" Chie did as she was told and composed Yukiko's number, only to hear an answer from the voicemail. "Do you have the inn's number?" "Yeah, I'll see if I can join them." This time, there was an answer, from Yukiko herself. "She's at the inn. But, how can it be possible? She appeared in the Midnight Channel and she's still in this world?" I guess the only way to be sure of this is to ask Mr. Bear. Yosuke was gone to talk with someone else and Chie turned to me "Now that I'm thinking about it, we never met your Shadow, right Yu?" She got a point there: before obtaining their Personas, Yosuke and Chie met their Shadows while I immediately obtained it. What is the meaning of this? "Actually, you really seem like a pretty open guy: you don't hold back what you're thinking of and yet, I think people appreciate you for this." What is she saying? Could she be—"Don't tell me you're falling for me already." She blushed, again. "Oh… Uh… I do think you are my type but…" She was at a loss of words "A-Anyways, I still owe you for saving me. You sure are something, I'm counting on you. I know that you'll lead us to the truth". Just like with Yosuke, I felt the surge of power, but it was different from the other. The teacher finally arrived and class started.

Just after the bell rang, we all went to Junes. Dammit! There were too much people. Thankfully, the others made some kind of shield and I tried to talk to the bear from the outside and… ouch! The fucking bear bitted me. "Are you all right?" Chie seemed concerned "I'm fine. Imbecile! What's the meaning of this?" He finally spoke "Is it a game" He was getting on my nerves "Screw your games. Now tell me, did you saw anyone entering this world since yesterday?" He told us between two 'bear' jokes that he didn't sensed or saw anyone; which means Yukiko's safe, for now. Tomorrow, we'll go to the TV world and check this out, since it'll be Sunday. The three of us exchanged our phone numbers and crossed our ways.

I was in my room now, watching the rainy night through my window: There was going to be something in this Midnight Channel for sure. And of course, when the time has come, my TV began to read an image, a clear one this time. It looked like the other side, I don't know where. There was a castle and most importantly, there was Yukiko in a… princess dress? What was the meaning of this? She was saying stuffs like 'charming prince'. Now I'm sure of this, this was definitely her Shadow. My phone rang just after the 'show' ended; it was Yosuke. "Dude! This was Yukiko-san for sure. She sounded weird and—" "Yosuke, calm down! The person you saw surely was her Shadow. Now listen, I'll contact Chie-san and tell her to warn Yukiko. We'll gather at Junes tomorrow, got it?" After we hanged up, I immediately called Chie-san "Hey Chie, you saw it, right?" "Yes, I even tried to contact her but she didn't respond; could it be it?" "I don't know, we have to make sure of this tomorrow. We'll meet up at Junes, okay?" After that I went to get some sleep. And this fucking old man better not summon me again!

Thank goddess! A good night of sleep: no weird dreams. As planned, the three of us gathered at Junes' court. Chie was rather upset I guessed what happened "Did you find something out?" she looked at me and replied "I've been to ask about Yukiko at the inn, and she... disappeared" "So, right now she is in this world… we've got no time to waste. Yosuke was hiding something behind him "Hey guys, if we are planning to explore this world, we'll have to be well equipped." With that, he revealed from behind him a kunai and a katana "So, which one will you take, Yu?" "The katana of course. Did you bring something for yourself too?" "You misunderstood me: the weapons are for the both of us, if you are worrying for Chie, then no need: she got her mortal kicks. As for me, the two are fine, look." He began toying around with the fake weapons; I couldn't let him get the attention "Yosuke, I'm sorry for this." "Sorry for wha—ugh!" I knocked him out by hitting him on the neck. "Chie-san, we need to get inside the TV with the weapons before anyone notice us" "I got it." Thankfully, no one saw us because we hided our gears in our cloths.

When we arrived in the other side, Yosuke recovered and looked at me with anger "O.K. why did you do that, Yu?" "And why did you risked to attract the attention, noobcake?" Chie looked at me and said "Noobcake? I think it does fit Yosuke well." He completely was surprised "What?! How dare you Satonaka?!" "Enough with this, guys, look. The bear is right here." I pointed toward blue-bear. We approached him and asked him if he saw Yukiko-san here: it seems he felt someone's presence since yesterday, it surely was Yukiko. Chie was impatient "Where is she?" "She should be there." He pointed a certain direction. Before we moved there, I saw a blue door. The others didn't seem to see it so I came closer to it and the blue key that I obtained in my dream began shining. I opened the door to be welcomed by a blinding light. When I opened my eyes again, I was in the blue limousine of my dream (or nightmare) and I found the old man with his eerie smile "Now that you are back, I can explain my true role in your journey, I am here to combine the personas you will get through your quest forming like this more powerful Personas: This is the Persona Fusion, and if you develop your Social Links properly, your Persona will get more powers. You have the ability to hold multiple Personas" I didn't really care about what he had to say, but I listened anyway "Do you remember when I said that if the mystery remain unsolved your future would be lost forever? I meant what I said and you must know that defeating enemies in battles is not the only way to win. Please remember that. The next time you will come, it will be of your own will" After I heard what he said, I found myself right where I was before entering the Velvet Room. Without waiting any longer, we headed to place the bear guided us to. We arrived to the castle which we all saw last night. Yosuke told us to wait. We did as he said and asked why "Before we enter, shouldn't we name a leader first? Yu, why don't you take this role?" I was stunned "Why me?" "You were the first to awake to your Persona and you handled our Shadows at the same time which proof that you are way stronger than us. Will you lead us to the end of this case, partner?" They trust me with their lives, both of them and even the bear. I can't deceive them, not now "Count on me." They all smiled. I felt another surge of power within me; this time it really was close to the one I felt when I first summoned Izanagi. Now, what was important was to save Yukiko.

* * *

_**(A/N: As you all call it a day, I call it a chapter. Yu and Yosuke didn't get caught by the police her, so no problem for them. I guess there is no need to introduce the Daidara metalworkers in this story since they get their weapons update in the donjons, right? What do you think of Yosuke's nickname by the way? Please read, enjoy and review.) **_


	7. Bonus Chapter

_**Guys, I'm really sorry for not being regular with my story lately, you know how it is: School, Exams… So to make you wait until my next chapter, I prepared for you a special Chapter… I'll make bloopers of the previous ones! Now sit back and laugh! I closed my Poll aaaand the winner iiiiiis… NAOTO! Thanks for voting, and I wish that all the Yu x Naoto fans will appreciate this (I won't hide that I am a fan of this pairing myself)**_

**Special Chapter: Bloopers**

_From Chapter 0 (Main character casting):_

_My POV:_

I was sitting in front of my computer, preparing my fanfiction of Persona "I will make a novelization of Persona 4, but I should make a casting to see which OOC Yu I should get. He really is too silent and easy-going: I need a cold guy with a strong personality! One that'll make both his enemies and allies cry!" So with this, a lot of OOC Yus proposed themselves. They all gathered in front of me and I began my speech "All right, maggots. Listen up! Univers is about to teach you the pecking order, It goes: Yu, the dirt, the warms inside of the dirt, Adachi's *censored*, Chuck Norris. Then Univers. Any questions?" *Silence* "Good… Then we can begin"

Were all those OOC Yus pussies?! They barely managed to scare a kitten. They all sucked, all but HIM! Among those losers was the only hope of my fic 'OOC Yu #209'. I killed all of the others and kept him. "All right! 'Yu' passed the test; you're the main guy of my story!" He looked at me emotionless "Do I get a promotion?" He was Da Man! But I'm still his superior "Yu still have to prove yourself in the story! Your contract gives you the right to make you own decisions, but Yu'll have to make sure to NOT piss me of or else…" "Or else what?" "I'll pair you with a girl!" He immediately got on his knees "Yes sir!" I thought to myself "_I think I'll trust him, but I'll make a poll just in case_"

_Present Me: If I only knew…

_From Chapter 1:_

Yu was waiting in the station, and then a man approached him.

_Men: Hi, you must be Yu (Good old dialogue style…)

_Yu: GOD DAMMIT! WHY DOES EVERYONE MESS WITH MY NAME JUST BECAUSE IT IS AN ENGLISH PRONOUUUUUUUN?! FUUUU-

_From chapter 2:_

Morooka and Yu entered the classroom, the latest was pretty sure that his new school life was going to suuuuck.

_Morooka: I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first, just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like…

…

…

_Yu: What's up with you weird guy?

_Morooka: I think I forgot my script…

_Yu: Guess what… Me too.

_KeyToUnivers: Ooooh! Looks like some people are going to get in trouble aren't they?

_From chapter 3:_

_Yosuke's POV:_

Booooy! Can't I have a normal rid with my bike?! This time, I landed inside of a can… Well, since the day is over, I can still check my Facebook.

…

…

Ummm… I received a message from Chie, she says: "You should check this pic..." I clicked on the link and… WHAT THE FUU—there was a picture of me when I got stuck in the trash can and it was on a status of 'everyone can see it' "OKAY WHO IS THE PUNK WHO DID THIS?!" on top of the pic was the name of the culprit… Yu Narukami! "FUCK YUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

_From chapter 5:_

_My POV:_

Yu finally awoke to his persona, but he somehow looked… Intrigued. "What's the matter dude?" he replied "Tell me, why do we get those personas things AND we still have to fight with weapons?" "Well it's simple: if the developers made this game making ONLY the personas fight, this would just have been a copy of Pokemon." He looked at me with big eyes "I get it! Izanagi, GO!" *BAF* (sound of my face hitting the table)

_From Chapter 6:_

_Yu's POV:_

I was asleep, for sure. And this place appeared again. There was the blond woman who was on her knees, searching for something I guess. "Good evening master Yu. Something terrible happened!" "What exactly?" "Both my compendium AND the master Igor disappeared!" she was speaking too soon, the old man was back, holding the book she was searching. "Ah! There you are old man, you owe me some explai—" He cut me in my sentence "How I hate those goodie goodies! How the make me mad! I.M Meeeeeeen hahahahah!" What was up with him? Oh god! The book was sucking me! Arrgghhhh!

_**Well these were short, these were funny, these were bloopers, and these were the BONUS CHAPTER! Please do review and I'd really like to apologize to Originaljuan92 and everyone who is following this story for all the time they waited and they'll have to wait. Please I'm asking you to understand. Bye! **_


	8. Operation: Save Amagi

_**Sorry for the long wait. I think Yukiko waited a way too long to be saved, so our heroes must hurry up and do the work.**_

_**_Yu: the "work" would have been looooong done if you wrote this chapter earlier instead of being such a couch potato.**_

_**_Me: Yu, when you applied for the role of the protagonist, we made a pact: You don't piss me off and I don't do what I promised not to do.**_

_**_Yu: I don't remember it… Anyway, I still think that you're just "the worst story writer ever and—**_

_**_Me: You broke your promise and I'll do the same… I'll pair you with a girl! You'll have a good romantic relationship!**_

_**_Yu: Shiiiiit! I forgot this one… Hahahah, you'll have to create a poll first and—**_

_**_Me: Good morning dude! I already created one a long time before, just in case, and I closed it a while ago… Check the results!**_

_**_Yu: *gulp* let's see… Naoto? Who is she?**_

_**_Me: you'll meet her later! Now let's begin this chapter!**_

_**(Now, you know why I created the Poll. As for the 'promise' thing, check the Bonus Chapter)**_

_**Anyway, I had some reviewers (Originaljuan92 and defog2000) telling me that my fight scenes DID need some more description and I'll make sure to improve on this. Thank you guys for voicing your thoughts, and DO NOT think twice before pointing the negative points of the story so they can be corrected.**_

* * *

**VII\ Operation: Save Amagi**

_Yu's POV:_

When we entered the 'castle' to save a 'princess', and seeing how Yosuke got some red color on his clothes and Chie got a green jacket, I couldn't help but think that I was watching some Mario and Luigi game. Yeah, I know I'm playing too much, but I don't care!

As we were walking through the castle, we noticed something that was moving at the end of the corridor. We approached it and it turned out to be a bunch of Shadows. The Shadows were a balloon; the same as the one we saw last time. And four weird black slimes with blue expressionless masks and two arms for each.

Yosuke broke the silence "Hey, how do you fight them?" The balloon flew toward him at high speed.

I yelled "DOOOODGE!" Too late, with a hit of its tongue, the monster sent him flying away. "I expect better from you, Chie." She gave one of the slimes a great kick that sent him crash on the wall at the end of the corridor (Who wants some slime jam…no one? Fine…)

However, the other slime gave her a punch in the face which was enough to knock her down. I yelled again "Why don't you guys DOOODGE!?" I really have to do everything myself… I summoned Izanagi and he used a mazio and sent all of the three remaining slimes to oblivion "I'm gonna rip you!" I slashed the balloon like a devil until it collapsed.

Then, I turned to the two others: Yosuke who just recovered from the attack he received and Chie who was wiping the blood on her mouth with the back of her hand "I'll have to take you under my wing for a good training session…"

They tried to complain, but Pedobear, who I completely forgot, agreed with me "If Sensei is telling you this then it is the right thing to do."

Wait a sec… is he trying to get out of my list? "This goes for you too blue guy!" I _reassured_ him.

We inspected every corner of that floor, fighting some Shadows in the process, and we soon found some stairs.

We climbed to the next floor and got ready to fight whatever awaits us there. As we explored this Castle, we heard a voice that looked like Yukiko's.

"I hate my name, it means snow but the snow melts easily. Could it be the same with me?" If she hates her name so much, she can count on me to find her a fitting nickname soon, or at least, after we save her.

After climbing some more stairs, we finally reached what looked like the throne room, and there was Yukiko, on her knees, alongside her Shadow which was apparently mocking her the same way Shadow Yosuke and Shadow Chie were mocking their human selves.

"Ah! There are my princes!" Am I dreaming or is she really pointing in our direction?! Oh god! Oh shit! This Shadow is dead meat! No one flirts with me!

"Are you referring to me too?" Chie asked, in complete confusion.

"Yes Chie, you _were_ my prince, before." I have the desire to call them lesbians, but maybe I shouldn't, right now.

"What do you mean, before?" the brunette asked.

"I thought you were the one who would get me out of all this! Out of what I was living! I never asked to take over the inn; I never asked to take all those responsibilities!" the corrupted monster shout, as if she was voicing all what was hidden within its heart. A chill went down my spine, was I scared? It's weird: I feel something when I see that Shadow, something like… helplessness? Fear?

No way! The Shadows are nothing but corrupted versions of yourselves that are just here to mock us! There's no way they even have a 'heart'. Eliminate them, that's the only way to prevent them from having their ways!

Yukiko was trembling and yet, she was trying to speak "N-No, S-Stop it!"

"Hum? Are you denying what I'm saying? Are you trying to hide from me?! Your true self?! My true desire is to find someone that will take me away from this world; to a place where no one knows me!"

"Enough!" For the first time, I saw Yukiko wearing an angry face and what happened then was pretty predictable… "You are not me!" And here we go.

"Sensei! This doesn't sound very good, we have to do something!" The Shadow transformed into a… bird inside of a cage. So frightening…

"I am a Shadow… The true sel— Whaaaa!" It shout in pain and looked at its wing to see my katana piercing it: I threw my weapon before it had time to finish its sentence.

"Tsk! I have enough of this speech of yours! Fight seriously wouldn't you?"

"Y-Y-YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU ROMANTICLESS MAN!" It shout as it threw back my Katana at me with its wing.

"Very flattered, thanks! Especially coming from a Shadow." As I ended speaking, I felt something slightly biting my right leg. I looked down and saw a doll… with a pathetic sword.

"Is it one of your tricks?" I asked as I caught my weapon mid-air.

"HAHAH! This is my prince, let's dance together!" the monster answered.

"Yukiko! I'm not letting you down, hold on!" Chie summoned her Persona which immediately used an ice spell on the bird which proved to be quite useful. Yosuke then joined the party and ordered his Persona to use a wind spell.

"That's it guys! Train with this Shadow, while I…" I turned to face the doll "I'll take a GOOD care of that toy."

This prince wasn't shit at all… It wasn't even good enough to be called shit! I had an idea; I somehow transformed it into a ball by making it roll on the ground and played football with it, kicking it to the wall and juggling with it.

While I was enjoying myself for once, I kept looking at the others: Actually, they were managing quite well… Chie really was made for heads-on fights while Yosuke was more support related: each time Chie was in trouble, he would heal her and even boost her speed. Judging from my skills, I am the most polyvalent of the group, I have a good strength and a good guard without forgetting my speed. The different stats of my Personas allowed me to provide myself with useful techniques depending on the situation I am in.

After a moment, I noticed something: the doll I was playing with wasn't bouncing anymore, it was dead: I'd better go and help the team a little.

"You are not my princes! You are just some commoners! BURN TO ASHES!" She did what we expected the least, the whole area was enveloped in fire and we received important damages, especially Chie who was vulnerable to fire.

Yosuke and I, on the other hand, managed to resist the fire a little _'We'd better finish it off before it gets too dangerous…'_ I thought as I gave Yosuke a look hoping that he would get what I want him to do.

He stared back at me and nodded "I got your back, partner." He said understanding my will. I ran toward the bird, holding my Katana tightly, and ready for the counter-attack. The monster released a shout.

"Where do you think you are? Behave and stand still, commoner!"

As I was running towards it, the beast created a massive fire ball above of it and the fire ball began releasing small fire balls falling towards me like a burning rain. I heard Yosuke behind me summoning his Persona "Now, Jiraiya! Sukukaja!"

A green light enveloped me and I felt my feet moving faster, as if I wasn't commanding them anymore, I was moving them without any effort at high speed and the fire rain wasn't a trouble anymore.

I soon reached the Shadow's cage and there, I jumped inside it.

"What are you doing?!" demanded the winged beast.

"What'll put an end to this game, monster!" I began slashing it with my Katana at the level of the body, but it still resisted. It responded to my assault with its claws, I didn't see the attack coming so I was hit to my left cheek.

The impact made me take a couple of steps backward and I hit my back on an iron bar. The Shadow took this opportunity to attack me again with its claws, giving me a fierce combo all over my body and covering me with scratches and blood. As for my clothes, there's no need to talk about their state.

I could hear Yosuke's voice from outside yelling "Yu! Hang in there!"

As I was getting beaten to a pulp, I heard a ferocious shout "Aiyaaaaaaa!" At that moment, I stopped feeling the pain of the claws cutting my skin. I slowly opened my eyes to see Chie standing in front of me: she recovered from the attack she took earlier and just kicked Shadow Yukiko, stopping it from damaging me any further.

The bird landed outside of the cage and was hardly getting back on its feet "Are you alright?" Chie asked, concerned.

"I'm fine." I answered.

"W-WHY YOU! STOP GETTING ON MY WAY!" Shout the corrupted self as it began flapping its wings, creating a gust of wind to hit us. At the minute, the wind attack was deflected by another one coming the other way.

"Hey guys! I'm still here!" Yosuke said, catching the Shadow's attention.

'_Now!'_ I wanted to take this as an opportunity to try delivering a fatal blow to the enemy. I jumped out of the cage and held my weapon, focusing as much strength as I could. The monster barely noticed me so it had no time to react.

"Away with you!" I yelled as I swing my sword, cutting the beast's throat. The bird released a final shout to the sky before collapsing on the ground.

In the end, after this furious battle, the real Yukiko was still on the ground, unconscious. We approached her and she soon woke up.

"C… Chie… Yu-kun… Yosuke-kun… You are all here?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Yes, it's all over now." Chie answered. The heiress noticed that her Shadow was still here and she trembled a little. But, Chie put a reassuring hand on her shoulder "It's okay, we all faced that before: just accept it."

At first, Yukiko hesitated, but then, she moved forward and spoke face to face with her Shadow. "Those things you said were indeed parts of me… You are me and I am you." As expected, Yukiko got her own Persona too 'Konoha—

(_All the Naruto fanboys/fangirls: Yaaaaaaaay!)

…na Sakuya'

(_All the Naruto fanboys/fangirls: Oooooooh…)

"Hey Yukiko," I tried to ask her "do you remember anything about what happened when you got kidnapped?" she looked at me confused before shaking her head.

"No, actually it is all foggy in my head to remember…"

"Well, this isn't surprising: You must be tired. Maybe if you rest for some time, you'll remember…" I couldn't finish my sentence before she gasped, then she said "Your face! It is all covered with scratches! You're injured."

"Well, looks like my uniform isn't the only thing that got messed up, Yosuke will be able to heal me, I guess. But I'll have to find a way to fix my uniform or my uncle will find out and get suspicious."

Yosuke looked at me then he said "Actually, the Dia spell can also fix your clothes." surprising me.

"How is that possible!?" I asked.

"Gaming Logic!" Yelled a voice out of nowhere. I turned to try and find the owner, and saw a silhoutte leaving the place quickly. Whatever, we got out of the TV world and Chie helped Yukiko to go back to the inn: Let's hope that Dojima-san doesn't get too curious.

* * *

When I was back, Nanako was here, watching the TV alone as usual. It wasn't a long time before Dojima-san was home too, but he wasn't alone: he was with another guy that introduced himself immediately.

"Hi, I'm Adachi, nice to meet ya. I'm the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring." In my opinion, this was more a complaint than anything else.

"I can still work you harder." Dojima-san said, staring at him.

"Nice one sir!" He said, sweating at the thought of getting worked harder. Then, he turned to face and talked to me "You're friend with Yukiko Amagi, right? Tell them at school that we found her."

Good morning dude. But I got to save the appearances and avoid any trouble "Nice job, it's good that you found her!" I'm hope he buys it.

"Oh! We didn't do that much…," he laughed, scratching the back of his head. "But the case's still not closed: when we questioned Ms. Amagi, she said that she didn't remember anything that happened when she went missing. Plus, we couldn't find her whereabouts during that period. It's like she disappeared or something…"

"GOOOD DAMMIT ADACHI!" Dojima-san gave him a hit on the back, preventing him from giving too many clues. The both of them really look like a comic duo more than two policemen. And so, the dinner time was lively for once…

* * *

_**That's it for the rewrite!**_

_**Trust me: when read this chapter last month, I was ashamed that I poster such a thing on the web: the presentation was bad, the dialogues were bad, and the fight scene was AWFUL! But, all this happened when I was still NEW to Fanfiction, so I guess that's it isn't a big deal, right guys**__**?**_

_**I hope you will like—no, love the new version, and forget about the other!**_

_**Anyways, do follow, fav and review! Starting from now, I bet that my story looks better overall (I should stop before overheating with modesty… _)**_

_**P.S: About the little joke after Shadow Yukiko's fight, I wanted to tell you that I have nothing against the fans of Naruto because… I am a fan of this Manga myself! It's my favorite besides DB, but that's my persona(l) opinion about it, so sorry if I offended anyone (bows to apologize)**_


	9. Joining Clubs

_***Sniff the air* Ahhhh! The sweet smell of the big Holidays! Now, the best thing to do is to forget aaaaall those booooring hours sitting on my chair listening to the teacher, and to fully concentrate on beating as much games as possible. Oh! And I'll also have to focus on my two stories! Well, right now I present to you a new chapter of the older on… but there is something special about it this time: defog2000 helped me by editing it! That's why I'd like to address him my special thanks. Working with him is a real pleasure! Without any further ado, here comes the seventh chapter (Which I can say is my longest chapter so far)!**_

_VII\ Joining Clubs_

_Yu's POV:_

We finally saved that Amagi girl, but the case is just getting harder. Even so, I'm not giving up! I'm a detective! Or so I want to be called… Oh Well, I'd better get ready for another day of school, such a pain…

Hmm? Someone is calling me.

"Hello?" "Good morning Master Yu, this is Margaret. I just called to remind you about how important your Social Links can be: Indeed, your natural strength won't be enough. So keep in mind that your Social Links are the ones which will determinate your true power during your quest. With this, I wish you a good luck during your journey."

"Hey! Wait!" "What do you call me Master?" "And how did you get my phone number?!"

… (Crow passes by…)

"… Gaming Logic, Master."

She just hung up, just like that. I turned to the wall and smashed my head against it.

On my way, I heard someone calling me.

"What's up, Yu!" I turned to face whoever it was.

"What do you want? Oh, it's you Luigi." So it was Chie "Arghh! Stop calling me that! Anyway, isn't it great? Yukiko is finally safe! She should be able to come back soon."

-Slime: *slurp* all this is thanks to my fire screens on her, she really don't stand fire *slurp*

-Pixie: Well Yeah, but it's also thanks to my pixiely amazing healing skills!

-Izanagi: Shut the hell up you two! Do I have to use my Mazio?!

Oh god… All those Personas in my head are going to kill me!

"What's wrong Yu? I know you're not a great talker, but you seem awfully in deep thoughts all of a sudden. What did happen to your head?"

"I smashed it against the wall." "Why?" "… Because I can…"

In front of us were two girls that were gossiping about something that caught my attention. "Hey, did you hear that the sport clubs are now accepting new members?" "Yeah, the most interesting sports are Basketball and Soccer." "Hmm, actually, those two are the **only** ones we got." "Oh yeah! I forgot."

Apparently, Chie heard that too "They are accepting new members, what are you into more?" Wait… Is she asking me? "Neither, team work sucks."

Wait a sec… Maybe I can pass my anger on some unfortunate souls if I need it.

"Actually, never mind, I'll join one." It seems Soccer players are the most pleasant to torture so it is settled.

"Yosuke has been here for six months and he still has never joined a club before… He should take you as an example." Don't worry Chie; once I'm done with the Sucker team, you and Mario are the next.

_~After school~_

It isn't an obligation, but I want to piss King M. off for once. I entered the Faculty Office and found him. "Hi there, Sensei! Mind if you tell me about those sport clubs thing?"

He looked at me for a while, my greeting ways don't seem to please him. "Why would you join a clu—oh, I get it! You want to hit on girls, right?"

"Why I never thought about it before! Thank you for the idea sir!" "ARGH! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" "Yeeees!" "You little…! Anyway, you can either join Basketball or Soccer clubs, get it?" "Yeah, thanks. You're a cool guy!" "How dare you?!"

Too late! I was gone!

Now, let's see this Sucker team. The P.E teacher introduced me to these maggots, thing that I could have done alone. I noticed that the other players were all like "He's thinking he's better than us" and "we are just some hicks to him" well at least I don't have to remind them about it

"… Yu, do you have something to say to the team?" Now, let's begin… "You're all going to die." "Thank you Yu. Now, let the warm up begin!"

One of the guys stayed, apparently wanting to introduce himself properly. "Hey, don't let the others get to you, just have fun!" Well, he's less of a maggot than the others "I know… thanks anyway." "My name is Daisuke Nagase."

Another dude joined us, from the Basketball team apparently. His name was Kou Ichigo and he was the same grade as me and Daisuke. Hmm? I feel something in my head! Oh god… What have you done to me Long Nose?!

The day is finally over… Tomorrow is Sunday, no school! But before sleeping, I should try to see more through the case.

After the Amano and Konishi's murders, we discovered that they have been killed by their own Shadows who they, with no doubt, rejected. But it seems that only those who awoke to their Personas, which means accepted their Shadow, can enter the TV World, and that wasn't the case for both. We all agreed that someone with the same powers as us have been throwing these people for reasons that are still unknown to us.

We decided that we would save the next person to be thrown in the TV so we can ask him or her who was the culprit. The later chose Yukiko Amagi as his next target; we rescued her contrarily to his plan. However, Yukiko believes that she didn't saw anyone between the moment she went unconscious and when she found herself in the castle.

All this is leading me to multiple conclusions:

The first is that the Midnight Channel really is a paranormal thing that 'draws' the people inside of it where the Shadows do the rest. But I soon abandoned this theory: first, because there got to be a logical explanation to all this rather than just a scientifically impossible one (If there is one, after all those things we saw…), and second because Yukiko told us that she 'heard someone calling her' before going unconscious.

The last argument leads us to my second conclusion: The Shadow is the one choosing when his other self will enter the TV World and after that he will kill him. But if that was true, then why does the MC exist? Actually, I think the Shadow just appears in front of his human self when this one is inside the TV, other than that, he does nothing else. Otherwise, why didn't those murders occurred sooner? If so, the Shadows would have conquered our world loooong ago.

My last and most valid conclusion is that I'm not the only one who got his Persona without facing my Shadow: somebody else got the same luck and is using it to kill other people. But why? Why does he do that?! Is this guy maybe obeying to the MC? Is he killing whoever appears there? Or maybe is he the one controlling the MC? What are the origins of this channel?! Could it be that somehow, it is linked to something else than the other world?

…

…

Wait! By any luck, could the Midnight Channel be linked to the normal channels? YES! Now I remember something!

The night I arrived in Inaba, Ms Yamano appeared on TV, not only on the MC but also on the news. Same thing with Saki Konishi, she was interviewed the same night she appeared on the channel. And Yukiko makes no exception.

From here, I can say that whoever appears on the normal TV on rainy nights will be the one appearing on the MC! Well, I think this investigation is actually going somewhere. *Yawn* Now I'm tired, I'd better sleep.

_~The next day~_

*PiPiPiPi*

Who is calling me?

"Hello?" "Hi, it's Kou. How about we grab Daisuke and hang out in Okina Station?" Wait a sec! How did he get my phone number? Gamin Logic strikes again! Anyway, since I'm in a good mood today, might as well get annoyed.

"Sure…" "Great! Don't forget about it!" Oh god… This is going to be annoying.

The three of us hanged out in Okina Station as planned. "So, which do you think you prefer? The city or Inaba?" Well, Inaba don't get that much of people which means less annoyance. "I say I prefer Inaba." They were saying stuff like: since we're all acquaintances with Yosuke, we should all hang out together sometime… Shit! That's too much for my mental health!

_The next day_

On my way to hell… err, I mean school, I heard girls talking about cultural clubs accepting new members.

*flashback*

"You're friends with Yukiko Amagi, right? Tell them at school that we found her." Good morning dude. But I got to save the appearances "Nice job, it's good that you found her!" I'm such a goooood actor.

*end of flashback*

Yeah, I really _**am**_ a good actor; I should join a cultural club to prove it (And also to pass my anger too)

~After school~

I wonder if K.M. is ready for the round two.

"Hi Sensei! It's me again!" "What the hell do you want, Narukami?!" "Nothing much, I just want to know more about the cultural clubs." "Aren't you getting enough with the sport club? Anyway, you can either join Drama or Band. But you'd better not be-" "Thanks, cool guy!"

I'm off for the Drama club: Time to show the world how much of a great actor I am.

Well, the club is made of: lovebirds, silent people and an overly dramatic girl…I think my luck is running out. AND THIS FREAKING VOICE IN MY HEAD! GET OUT OF HERE!

Finally home. Let's see what I can find in the fridge…

I can actually make a boxed lunch for tomorrow (Don't ask what it is).

~The next day~

Class is boring, teachers are boring and Yosuke is boring! Who doesn't know the commonality among Egypt, Huang He, Indus and Mesopotamia?! Anyway, I gave him the answer because I can't stand seeing my team being made of such losers.

~During lunch break~

Okay, it's chow time!

Who do you want to eat lunch with?

Oh god! This voice… No… NOOOOOOOOO! What are you doing here?!

What kind of greeting is this? Didn't you miss me?

Of course not! It's because of you that I was a silent protagonist during the whole game! Why are you here?!

_Universe: Actually, I'm the one who gave him a second chance: the poor narrator was soooo bored that I proposed him to reappear during this adventure.

So, who do you want to eat lunch with?

With your mother!

I ran to the rooftop, wanting to forget that bad news. I can't believe that the author is doing this to me! Anyway, I ate my food and got back to class.

_Universe: Hey, Yu?

What do you want?!

_Universe: The thing of the narrator was a joke! Don't be mad.

Like I cared, I'll go and continue this burning hell that is my life.

After classes, I ran straight to 'train' with the suckers: it was a lot of fun! Their screams were reaching my ears like sirens' song! Ahhhh… For once that I enjoy myself.

_The next day:_

A golden rule for me: Rainy days are always boring, so much that I didn't know what to do after school. Kou told me about Aiya's Special Rainy Days Challenge that no one completed. I'll show him that nothing resists me, especially not a beef bowl.

I entered the restaurant and ordered the Mega Beef Bowl and it looked… Not that impressive… Oh! I know! It is only an entrance! Well, if the main meal is bigger than this will be a challenge, not mentioning the dessert.

I got a hold of my chopsticks and attacked the entrance finishing it in no time.

"Well, what are waiting for? Don't tell me this was the challenge!" "Aiyaaaa! It actually was! And you finished it! Congratulations!" "Wait, what? Well, that was easy…" And I returned home, now knowing how much my life was boring.

Dojima-san asked us if we wanted to go somewhere for the golden week: Nanako was very excited about it and I didn't saw any objection… Oh! Tonight is rainy by the way! We saved Yukiko, but I prefer to check the Midnight Channel anyway.

When I went upstairs, I waited for midnight to strike and… There was nothing, as expected. I opened the windows of my room, even if it was rainy, and I thought 'Culprit, wherever you are, whatever you do…' I stared at the window as rain pelted against it. "I will find you and kick your ass!" And I kicked the wall.

_Meanwhile, at the fog-shrouded shopping district…_

_Normal POV:_

Someone was standing in the middle of the street.

"… Ouch! My ass hurts!"

_The next day:_

_Yu's POV:_

Was this Yukiko in front of the school's gates?

"O-Oh… Good morning." "… Hi." And there she went… Talking about how she was sorry and grateful at the same time. Thank god! Chie arrived and Yukiko went to talk with her.

_~After school~_

The four of us gathered on the rooftop and discussed the case so far, like they are always waiting for us to gather to think about it!

As expected, Yukiko didn't remember anything about the culprit. "That's one hell of a killer: he ringed the doorbell, right? It is like as if he was wearing bright yellow clothes at the scene of the crime." "Hey, now that I got a Persona, I'd like to help you with the case if possible." "If this investigation team becomes too big, we will get caught. But it is true that we will need as much help as possible, thank you anyway." Mario waited until this moment to ask the question I was expecting "So, if we look deep in the case, what was the victims' common points so far?"

"I want to hear your opinion first." "Well, I noticed that they were all females." "Hum, actually I don't think this is quite the true thing." They all turned to face me "Haven't you noticed something weird: each time a person would appear on the real TV on rainy nights, the same person would also be on the Midnight Channel. Remember Ms Amano, she appeared the night I arrived in Inaba, and a student said that he saw her on the MC. And Konishi-senpai was interviewed about the case the same night we saw her. And you, Yukiko, made no exception. Now, the only thing we're missing is the culprit's motivations to obey the MC… Anyway, I also reached the conclusion that he had the same ability as me: he had his Persona without facing his Shadow."

They looked at me with a weird way, and Yosuke said what, I guess, the others were thinking "Well, if he had the same ability as you, then it could be you!" I stayed like this for a while then I answered "Then consider that when we explored the other world after Konishi-senpai's death, it would not be my first time visiting it. And when I fought Chie's Shadow and yours, it would not be my first time summoning my Persona. Also, consider now that I would never have saved you."

…

"You got a point there dude, sorry." That's me being a detective! "No problem, I'm used to it by now…" "What do you mean?" "Forget it!" We stayed in an awkward silence.

"Well, aren't those done by now?" Yosuke was referring to the girls' meals "Oh yeah. Chow time!" "Can I try a little bit of it?" "No! If you want some, go get it yourself… Okay, but just one bit!" Chie handed her meal to Yosuke who began eating it. Yukiko looked at me "Do you want to try a little too?"

Well, she was eating tofu. Tofu is fluffy. And I hate all what's fluffy! Especially weaklings. "No thanks. And Yosuke! Isn't it too much to be called a 'bit'?" Yosuke heard me and gave Chie what was left in the bowl, which means nothing.

"Oh! You're so dead!" "W-Wait! I'll buy you steak! It's on me!" "Really? Great! You've got to keep your promise, or else…!" "Y-Yeah! P-Please dude! Help me!" "Responsibilities, dude, responsibilities."

Yosuke ended up buying a grilled steak for Chie, and I kind of helped him a little. "Let's take the opportunity that we are at Junes to introduce the other world to Yukiko… In a better way. God dammit! The other noob is coming, let's talk about something else!"

Alas, he noticed us and joined in the conversation. Chie had to ask the question that, maybe, was going to raise suspicions. "Hey, do you think the culprit killed Konishi to shut her up?" "Well, we are thinking about it ourselves. That also means that she noticed something only the culprit knew, so that's why he killed her… Oh! I said all this? Don't mind me okay? If Dojima-san heard me…" I had to say it "Then since he's not here, I'll say it… GOD DAMMIT ADACHI!" "Wow! Almost like he was the one in front of me right now… Ha-ha. See you!"

This guy got an aura prevents me from trusting him… Anyway, we entered the TV world with our new member. We soon found Teddie who made a pair of glasses for Yukiko too.

"I'm a beary dexterous bear, look." He approached Yosuke and began moving his fingers in a very weird way so Yosuke pushed him, making him drop a… Weird pair of glasses. Yukiko took them and tried them. "Ahaha. How do I look?" "It fits you to the core of your soul!" Knowing what kind of soul she had… She then forced Chie to wear them and began laughing no-stop. "Yukiko!" "Hahahahah!" YUKIKO!" "AHAHAHAHAH!" "NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD!" at least, that shat her up "What?" Like I didn't have enough with Mario and Luigi, I have a hyena on my team! Well, time to go home.

While I was watching a quiz show with Nanako, Dojima-san announced that we would be able to go on a trip during the golden week. And I was in charge to prepare boxed lunches. Heheh! Don't underestimate my cooking skills; a detective got to be able to live on his own, so I learned how to cook well.

_**End of the chapter! So, how was it? Hum? Someone is at the door…**_

_**_Yu: GOD DAMMIT! How could you bring this narrator back?!**_

_**_Me: first, watch your language! Second, he just appeared here as guests so don't worry.**_

_**_Yu: Don't introduce him! Never!**_

…

…

_**_Yu: By the way, I still didn't met—**_

_**_Me: Let's see next time for the next chapter!**_

_**_Yu: Wait, I—**_

_***knock Knock***_

_**_Yu: What the…?!**_

_***opens door***_

_**_defog2000: Hey! I want to speak to Universe!**_

_**_Yu: What! I was about to ask him-…!**_

_***Slienced by defog2000's persona***_

_**_Me: Anyways, special thanks to defog2000 for editing this Fanfic! Do check his fanfic out! Now what do you want to talk about…**_


	10. Biker Gangs And Tough Guy

IX\ Biker gangs and tough guy

Today is Sunday again, and the rain was still here. I decided to head to Junes and called the others.

"So, what's up man?" asked Yosuke. "Since today we're free and it's rainy, we'll go and train to get stronger in the other world. Yukiko also have to adapt to the place so she doesn't die so easily." I explained.

"Psst Chie, does that mean that Yu wants me to die?" whispered Yukiko trying not to be noticed by me. "Actually no, it's just his way to talk. Don't worry; he's a real sweet-guy inside…" "What are you mumbling about, Chie?!"

If she thinks I'm a 'sweet-guy', then I'll prove her that she's damn wrong "N-Nothing Yu—Er, I mean, leader!" Anyway, we must get down to business.

"Alright guys! If we want to have a benefic training session, we must choose the best place. Since the Shadows in the Castle were the strongest so far, it is settled."

Once we went inside of the Castle, we were immediately greeted by Shadows. "I'll tell ya how we're going to proceed: we'll split up and fight Shadows individually. If anyone gets in trouble, he or she must contact Teddie so we can go and help him." Fortunately, there was no objection to the idea so we proceeded everything smoothly just as planned.

I went to the last floor just to see if there wasn't any Shadows there, and I found myself in front of some sort of King doll. Humph, some trash that I'll take care of.

"I've been beating your son, and now it's your turn!" He casted a Fire Wall on himself, letting me to deduce that fire was his weakness.

I rushed toward him and slashed him with my katana, but it seemed like the damage I dealt were almost nothing to him. "Darn you!" I jumped backward and launched a Zionga. At least it did something.

He then approached me and used a Kill Rush. I was sent flying to a pillar of the room. He tried to repeat the move but I dodged by sliding behind him.

I tried with a combo of eight hits, but there were still minor effects. He turned to face me and used a Hysterical slap, but I got down and smashed him right in the legs which caused him to fall on the ground.

I noticed that the red aura that enveloped him disappeared. Now was my chance! I used my Agi spell and… He drained it?! All what I dealt of damages was for nothing! "Do you even have a weakness, prick?!"

I quickly switched to Jack Frost and prepared to use a Bufula, but he used Kill Rush on me and I was sent hitting two pillars which fall with my contact on them and I finally crashed on a third one.

I quickly switched to Pixie and ordered her to heal me while I dodged yet another attack from the monster. When I felt better, I casted a Mind Charge on myself and got ready for another Bufula attack attempt.

This time the attack touched him and it was pretty effective. But, he quickly recovered and used Rampage which knocked me down. "Urgh… Curse you piece of shit!" he made some kind of laughing noise, surely it was mocking me.

Then, he approached me and before I had time to get back on my feet, he kicked my stomach repeatedly. I ended up coughing blood. He was about to give me another charged kick when I quickly switched to Izanagi and summoned him. He blocked the attack with his spear and used sonic punch on it, causing it to stumble backwards and made him fall on his back.

I hardly got back on my feet and took my Katana. I quickly change back to Jack Forst and Mind Charged, while dodging yet another a Kill Rush and used my Bufula on him sending him flying to the wall. Pixie healed me once more and I got ready to finish him; he wasn't going to live infinitely.

I Mind Charged once again and launched my ice skill on him, finally killing him. By the time it ended, I really was exhausted and panting heavily but at least I felt stronger than before! Well, there was still shame on me for telling the others to call if they were in trouble and not applying this rule myself…

I went to join the others, like nothing happened. Yosuke and Chie seemed to have improved since we entered and Yukiko wasn't bad at all. They were actually facing three Shadows and were having quiet a bad time. "Guys! I thought I told you to fight separately!" I yelled angrily.

"Sorry dude, but we had to regroup: they are too strong! Could you help us? Just this single time, pleasepleaseplease!" Was he kidding?! "No! Defend yourselves!" they kept fighting for a while until when I had a brilliant idea "Yosuke! Yukiko! I want you two to combine a wind and a fire attack now!"

They did as I ordered them to and the three Shadows were killed by a burning gust of wind. "Whew! That wasn't a bad idea at all, maybe we can try other combinations!" said an enthusiastic Chie. At last, they have finally used their brains.

That's how we created some fusion skills: burning tempest, frozen tempest, burning lightning… Combining attacks really is useful at times. Well, it is better than fighting mindlessly.

I can actually say that the training session was giving positive results, I'm kind of proud of my teammates. We headed back to the real world saying good bye to Teddie.

The next few days didn't have anything special, except that exams were coming. Anyway, one evening, as I was watching T.V with Nanako, we got a call. She got up and went to see who was calling: apparently it was Dojima-san and from Nanako's expression, I could tell there was nothing like good news. "He wants to talk to you." With a sad face, she gave me the phone and went to her room.

"So, what's up uncle?" "Oh Yu, well, there is a rookie that got sick so we can't really ignore the case he was taking care of. Conclusion: I fear that we'll have to cancel the trip we were getting ready for." "I see, well I'll try to cheer Nanako up." "Please do. And sorry." He hung up. Ah… Dojima-san, you really shouldn't make the same mistake my parents did with me… look at the devil I am! And damn that rookie! Ruining all the plans we had made!

Tomorrow, my prior mission is Nanako; I don't care about anything else!

In the morning I got up and went down stairs. Nanako was here, watching the T.V silently as usual. When I think of it more, we really have a lot in common and that's what scares me: I don't want her to be similar later in the future to what I am now.

She noticed me and greeted me. After that, someone knocked at the door, it was Lui—Chie. I really should stop with nicknames. "Cool, you're home! Well, we planned to hang out at Junes, Yukiko is coming too, are you coming?" Junes! That was the idea! "Hey Nanako! Are you coming too?" I asked immediately. "I really can come?" "Of course you can!" Then, without waiting anymore, we made our way to Junes where we met up with Yosuke and Yukiko.

Yosuke had to say the most random thing now "Why did you bring poor Nanako here, on Golden Week?" But Nanako gave him an answer that almost made him cry… of happiness, alas. "I love Junes!" "N-Nanako-chan…!" "But at first, we were about to go on a real trip. And make boxed lunches…"

She looked at me, so did everyone else after that, for the first time with them around, I felt my cheeks burning. Chie broke the silence "that's impressive, 'Big bro'!" and of course Yosuke had to say the gayest thing EVER. "Well, you do seem great with your hands—Um! Never mind!" "Of course, I am even greater with them closed!" I said, closing them into a punch. I could see him sweating now.

Yosuke's POV:

Oh god! I ended up saying something really 'yaoi' without noticing. Well, I wonder if Chie can cook… "Hey Chie, can you cook?" "Y-Yeah, I can cook pretty easily!" Umm… She doesn't seem that confident "I'm not so sure about that. Anyway, we can always have a cooking contest and Nanako could be our judge. Well, we might not compare to your mom's cooking though."

"My mom died in an accident long ago." She said. Oh god! I surely didn't say the best thing.

Yu must be mad; maybe I should look his way… Waaaaahh! Here it was! The face I tried not to get since we designed Yu as our leader. His eyes were like all red and a dark aura was enveloping him! It was like he was about to say "_**HUM! TONIGHT I'M EATING FRIED YOSUKE WITH ITS BLOODY SAUCE!**_" Just thinking of it made me tremble!

Anyway, I noticed something that I had to share with the girls while Yu was talking with Nanako. "Hey, didn't you notice that Yu looks like someone else when he's around Nanako?" Chie was the one who responded me "Yeah. A big bro in all the sense of the term… I'm jealous." Ouh! The opportunity! "I can always be you big bro Chie—" She knocked me down before I had the time to finish my sentence!

Back to Yu's POV:

God damn you Yosuke! I don't know why Chie kicked his ass, but he surely deserved it! Anyway, I think Nanako didn't take it that bad since she immediately said it was okay "My dad's still here. And now, I have a brother!" Heheh. 'Big bro'… For once, Chie said something interesting. And this voice again in my head! But this time, I don't really mind it.

One evening, Dojima-san entered home holding a— "Junes bag!" said Nanako. "Good eyes! Since it is Children's Day, I thought I should bring you something. Here." He gave Nanako a T-shirt with a picture on the front. "Hahah! It's funny, thank you dad!" At least, Nanako was happy. Then, my uncle faced me "I brought something for you too. Not that you are a child, but fair's fair." He gave me a swimsuit… Oh god… First Yosuke, and now him? "Thanks." "I thought you might need one soon." He seems not to notice what he's saying…

~The next day, one the way to school~

I was walking to school when I encountered Yosuke on his almost-dead-bike. "Yo, partner. Dammit! This bike's a real piece of crap now. I can hardly ride it." "Did you forget all those times when you crashed with it?" "Oh yeah… Anyway, sorry for what I said to Nanako-chan last time… Being with her really made all of us stronger in many ways… Let's do our best!" Ah, Nanako is really someone special since she made them realize the importance of the inner-strength: the willpower. "You got a point on this one; we have to put all our strength on this!"

But since he's Yosuke, he couldn't stay serious any longer. "Hey, did you notice that Chie and Yukiko are closer… I mean, are you… Never mind! Anyway, I should be patient with this bike. At least, until I get my motorcycle license!" he said all enthusiastic… Wait! He said a motorcycle?! "Wow wow! God protect us all then!" he stared at me angrily "What's that supposed to mean?!" "It means: hurry up or you'll be late!" with that, I ran off letting him understand what I just said.

School was boring, as always. But you know what's even more boring? It is when your friends come to talk about exams with you. Chie proposed something clever to Yosuke "Hey, how about you ask Yukiko to help you with your studies? She always get the best grades" And Yosuke had to choose the worst phrases "Yeah, I could ask her for a private lesson." Yukiko heard it and gave Yosuke what he deserved: A bitch slap!

Now that I think about it, Dojima-san has been home more often in the evenings, lately. It's surely due to the fact that there's no one missing right now.

Well, we are a family after all. And maybe I'll get him to realize how Nanako feels about all the time he spends at work and that she needs him. "Uncle… How about we talk a little?" he looked at me with a smile "Well sure, have a seat."

Dojima-san looked like he was trying his best to find a topic for the discussion. "So, how is your school life? I hope you're not bored." "Actually, no. I can almost say it is pretty fun." He was nodding to himself saying that my 'school days' (oh gosh! Why do I always tremble when I think about this anime!?) would be over before I knew it.

Then, he moved to a topic that he sure wanted to reach from the beginning "Anyway, have you made friends? If so, the only thing I have to tell you is… Uhhh, you know… I'm not telling you who you can and can't hang out with…" don't worry, I know what you mean. "Yeah, I see where you want to get… It shouldn't cause troubles; I know on what side I am." "Good. It is quiet strange that the murders began when you arrived. I'll ask you not to get involved in those cases, okay?" He is right; it's quiet an irony that the murders began when I arrived and plus, I got my Persona without even facing my Shadow. "Okay, I'll keep away from those cases. Not that I got interested in them in the first place…"

I'm such a good liar… A devil I am indeed. Sorry uncle, but I'll do more than getting involved. As a detective, you should understand: Once you began investigating something, you can't turn back to the starting point like nothing happened…

"Hey, are you two fighting?" it was Nanako; she really thinks we are having a fight… "Come on Nanako, we are just having a little talk. Well, look at the time; you should go to bed soon." I said trying to reassure her. "Okay…" with that, she left to her room.

"Hahah… It looks like she is really taking a shine to you. As long as you're safe, it should be okay."

I felt a faint bond forming between me and my uncle. How do I know it? Ask the freaking voice in my head!

~Beginning of the midterm exams~

Today, I'm on fire! Let's kick some questions!

First day: Aced

Second day: Aced

Third day: Aced

Last day: OVERKILL

It was so easy! Now what's left to do is to see if everyone got good grades too. "So guys, how did you do?" I asked. "I compensated all my mistakes of composition with geography anyway." Chie said. "And I don't won't to talk about it now; we are finally free of those things!" that's the Yosuke I know. Yukiko seems to have aced her exams just like me.

Then, I heard some students talk about something that caught my attention. "Guys, did you hear about those reporters coming for an interview about the biker gangs?" one of them said. "Really? How do you know?" "Well, one of my friends is hanging out with them and I heard it from him." I was completely surprised: from the beginning, I was seeing Inaba as a calm town and the teenagers having their hormonal troubles, but at this point…

Then, Yosuke remembered something important "Anyway, tonight it should rain, so we'd better watch the Midnight Channel." Thanks to him, we won't forget it. He does have moments where he is important. "Guys, let's suppose that my theory was correct and let's watch the news before the MC, got it?" I said, still hoping that I reached a good part of this case. Who knows who's the unfortunate soul that will be targeted by the culprit this time…?

~This evening~

I returned straight home after school, and watched the news with my uncle and cousin: it seems today's program was focusing on the biker gangs, but more on a guy seemed to be giving those later a beating. He even got the guts to tell the crowd 'to get bent': If we save this guy and he joins our team, we will finally get some good assets…

My uncle knew him: His name was Kanji Tatsumi, a first year from our school. He was giving a hard time to the punks because they were disturbing his mother's sleep… That's an example of a guy who fights to defend his cause!

Time is time; I need to go to my room and wait for the MC while watching the rain falling. When the moment arrived, a figure indeed appeared on the screen of the turned off TV. This still hidden by shadows figure was Kanji's with no doubt: So I was right after all…

Not long after that, Yosuke called me. "Hey dude, you were right; Kanji appeared on the MC right after being shown on the news!" He said almost like he was hardly catching his breath. "Calm down now and get some sleep: Since tomorrow's Sunday, we'll gather at Junes and discuss the whole thing up."

I was about to hung up when Yosuke interrupted me "Oh one last thing! I know it is off subject but… Which one is your type: Yukiko or Chie?"

What's up with him? Does it really matter? Anyway, I don't have any interest in them, not a single tiny bit. "So, you are asking me who is better: A meat-loving Luigi, or a nerdy laughing-hyena? Well, what a poor choice. Neither!"

He waited for awhile and then he laughed "Hahah! That's kinda harsh, but what you said isn't a lie. Well bye—" Oh no, you're not getting away with this! "How 'bout you Yosuke? Which one is more fitting for ya?"

"Uhh… You know… She's can be really tomboyish… But… Uhhh…" Hahah! Such a naïve guy, he's about to say it! "Listen, I was just teasing ya. Don't answer if you don't want to. See ya!" I hung up.

Oh god, so he is interested in Chie… I should have guessed it. Anyway, something as crazy won't happen to me!*yawn* Time to sleep…

~The next day, at Junes~

As planned, we gathered for a recapitulation of the current situation. "I can assume that the person we saw last night was Kanji Tatsumi. The theory we elaborated lately was correct: Whoever appear on the news shortly before the rainy night will eventually appear on the Midnight Channel. The problem now is that our main goal is to arrest the murderer, and trust me; cleaning all the mess he leave behind by saving people won't help, in the other hand, it will raise suspicions! To avoid that problem we mustn't forget the main questions we have: Who is the culprit? Why is he attacking people who appear on the MC? But there is also an ultimate question: Why does the MC itself exists?"

They all looked at me with serious expressions, Yosuke then brought his part of the evidences "Your right partner, but our lack of clues leave us with no other choice but to keep 'cleaning behind the culprit'. Eventually, we might get closer to the truth each time. So now, we must focus on saving Kanji."

Before I could think about anything else, Yukiko pinpointed a thing that we all forgot about "By the way, didn't you notice something: When I appeared on the Midnight Channel for the first time, I was still in the real world. I was kidnapped only after the image became clear." "Which means, Kanji is still safe for now…" Just to make sure of this, we are going to pay him a visit.

"Does anyone know Kanji more personally?" I asked. "Oh gosh, I mean, didn't you saw him last night?! He really isn't the social type…" Yosuke cowardly said. For some reason, Yukiko wore a sad face "He wasn't like this the whole time…" I looked at her curiously "You know him Yukiko?" "Yes, but I didn't talk with him for a long time. His family is running a textile shop in the shopping district. How about we go there now?"

So that's how we made our way to speak with the tough guy.

When we arrived at the shop, there were only two people there: An old woman who must be Kanji's mother and a blue haired boy with a hat. "Well, if you'll excuse me, Ma'am. Thank you, you gave me plenty to think about." said the boy. I studied the boy from head to toe from a distance; come to think of it… he is quite short for a guy. As he turned and walked towards the door, he turned to make a small eye contact with me. My sliver eyes met his grayish-sliver ones. For the moment, I was quite stunned. Somehow, my mind is telling me that he isn't a male, but it can't be right? I mean he is wearing blue double-breasted coat for crying out loud!

"What's with him?" Chie asked. "I don't know… Weirdo…" Yosuke muttered.

Something tells me his or her gender is a mystery, Yosuke… and those eyes, they seem quite stunning… Argh! Why am I thinking about this! I slapped myself in order to focus on serious matters at hand.

"What's the problem, partner? There is Kanji! Let's hide!" We ran to hide behind the red mail-box. And we waited there listening to the conversation. Wait a sec! Since when am I scared of Kanji? And since when is Yosuke the leader?! "Uh s-sure t-tomorrow's fine. A-And of course I'm going to school!" "Good, then I'll see you tomorrow after school." said the mysterious boy before he left.

With that, he went to the textile shop and… He noticed us! "Hey! What the hell are you pricks looking at?!" he ran toward us "L-Listen leader! Sometimes, the best option for victory is to flee!" as much as I hate to admit it, Yosuke was right. So that's how we ran away from the tough guy.

"So what are we going to do now?" Chie asked. "First, we'll watch the channel again: If the image is still unfocused, then we still have time. Then, you heard like me that whoever-that-demon-was asked him out after school and that's how we'll proceed, we'll split into two groups: a group will stay in front of the textile shop to see if the culprit shows up. The other group will pretend to be dating in the same spot as them, just in case the 'guy' who asked him out hasn't anything to do with the culprit himself, got it memorized?"

Yosuke looked at me with puppy eyes "Oh! Partner, can I be in the group that will spy on Kanji? Please please please PLEASE?" Oh god… Is this the only thing that interests him?! "Fine!"

Chie stared at Yosuke with anger "I get it! Leader, I'm pairing up with him!" Yosuke looked at Chie, shocked "W-Why?! I wanted to pair with Yukiko…!" "That's exactly what I wanna prevent!" will the two of them stop arguing like an old couple?! "That's enough! You two pair up and that's all, lovebirds!"

Oh god… I should have watched what I said… 'Cause now "Tssss… Hahahahahahahahah! Lovebirds… HAHAHAHAHAH!" Now the laughing-hyena was on the job… "Yukiko!" "HAHAHAHAH!" "Yukiko!" "HAHAHAHAH!"

I had no choice "NEEEEEEEEEEERD!" Then, she stopped laughing "What?" Thank god…

We returned to our homes before the rain started. As I checked the MC, there was still Kanji's face, clearer, but still not completely focused. Tomorrow, we must make sure that the operation goes smoothly. We have to.

~The next day, after school~

As planned, we waited in front of the school gates, unnoticed by Kanji and the mysterious… Charming… Arrrgh! Will I stop thinking this way?! That's my karma for teasing Yosuke and Chie and thinking that Yosuke was… W-Whatever, they went to the Flood Plain, from what I could hear.

"Alright, Yosuke and Chie, you know what to do. Act just like you were a couple enjoying a date, try not to argue and if you really can't, then try make it sound like an old couple arguing; which means act like always."

They both starred at me, furiously "What's that supposed to mean?!" they said at the same time then looked at each other "Stop copying my lines!" growled Chie "What?! Speak for yourself!" replied Yosuke. I clapped with my hands "I knew I could count on you!" long story short, they went to play their parts of the operation.

Me and the hyena where left to wait for the culprit. "Hey, do you think he will show himself? I mean the culprit." She asked after a moment "I'm not going to lie. During daytime, with all those people around, the chances for that to happen are weak…" "You are right; he would easily be noticed by the crowd. By the way, I wanted you to know that I'll do whatever it takes to help you with the case. You all saved me… Sorry, I think I'm a bit nervous; I never talked to a boy my age like this before…" and here she goes… This time, Chie is not going to save me. And those voices in my head aren't of any help, you know?

We waited a little longer before seeing the lovebirds rushing back "Don't say a thing: You failed, right?!" "Please, forgive us leader. He noticed us and ran after us and-." "Shut up, lovebirds! Now, we have no other choice but to run away and go to the TV world to save him. But to do so, we must be prepared."

We ran away as fast as we could, who knows what would happen if he caught up to us.

~This evening, in Yu's room~

I was waiting for the MC to pop up again. Before that happened, I got a call from Yukiko who informed that Kanji was missing, now.

When the special program appeared, the image was clear and I could see Kanji wearing only a bathtowel… in a bathhouse?! Oh gosh, this sounded so gay! Err… I think that after what happened today I'm nothing better than him…

*PiPiPi*

This was Yosuke "D-D-Dude! I-I mean—" "First, calm down! Second, we still can save him! Let's discuss all this tomorrow."

So Kanji disappeared too… Maybe we failed to prevent that, but we are going to save him and put an end to those murders… I swear it!

* * *

So that's it, second chapter made with defog2000! Today, we experienced Yu's first encounter with Psst *thegirlhestildoesn'tknow*. Psst

As you noticed it, I didn't mention some social links here because they are a waste of time when you think about it. Also, only the important events of the links I sited are going to appear.

About Yu's personality, I don't know if you see it like this but I'm trying to make him more childish than badass for reasons that you'll understand a little later

Yu also experienced a critical failure to prevent Kanji from being thrown inside the TV world!

Yu: Hey! The failures are Chie and Yosuke! Those lovebirds… something's sure, nothing like this will happen to me!

Me: Oh really? 'Those grayish-silver eyes…'

Yu: Argh! You've been spying on me!

Defog2000: Wrong! WE are spying on YOU!

Yu: Damn you, go away!

Defog2000: Manners, young man… Do you want my persona to silence once again?

Yu: Argh! *flips table*

Hahaha! Anyway don't forget to read, enjoy and review. And check defog2000's story as well, trust me you'll enjoy it too!


	11. Two Sides of The Same Coin

_**X\ Two Sides of the Same Coin**_

_~At school~_

_Yu's POV:_

…The culprit, he has made fun of us once again. And now, Kanji is already inside the TV world.

This morning, we attended school, not saying a word and not fully focusing on the lessons as the case alone was overheating our brains. We created the investigation team to catch the culprit more than to save his victims, but it turned out that we've done the opposite. Again, you'll tell me that trying to solve a case when you're still a teenager attending school and working on it without attracting suspicious looks, with some supernatural powers as your only way out of it, is something that only works in the books. But you know what? Rome wasn't built in one day.

"Let's see… Narukami! Can you answer this?" the P.E teacher decided to pick me for today's question. "What is it, sir?" "What is the meaning of the proverb 'Rome wasn't built in one day'?" Fate itself made him say this or what? "The meaning of this is: It takes time to make big projects real. The biggest they are, the more it takes to realize them." Yeah, it will take time, a lot of time, for us to know success and reach the end of the whole thing. But as long as we believe in it, we still have the hope to get this done with someday. Someday, we'll find this culprit and make him meet his punishment.

Even the biggest detectives began short to build bigger. Even the best Fanfiction writer was a beginner… Maybe it will apply to someone I know (A/N: Shut up, Yu!)

The afterschool period arrived and we gathered at the front gate before getting out of school.

"As you all already know, Kanji Tatsumi is inside the TV as we speak, right now. Geez! That culprit really is making fools out of us!" Yosuke was very mad about this, as well as all of us. "It can't really be helped; what matters now is to save him and find more clues about that damn culprit." Again, Chie was the one who spoke about the positive points. "We should prepare for a training session tomorrow; we need to be as strong as possible if we want to stand a chance against his Shadow." I proposed, knowing that each time we were visiting a new zone in the other world, the Shadows were getting stronger and stronger. But, as a team we also were getting stronger every time.

We headed to Junes so we could ask Teddie if he had an idea about Kanji's exact location. When we arrived, we found him in his usual spot; he was lost in thoughts, deeply lost in thoughts. "Hey Teddie! Someone's here, right?" Yosuke asked. "I think so, yeah…" he replied, in a monotone voice. "What do you mean 'you think'? Do you know where he is?" Chie asked, wanting more precisions from the bear. He just answered with 'I dunno'. "Something's on your mind?" Maybe he had something he wanted to tell us, something that he couldn't keep it to himself. "I keep sniffing and don't find where the smell comes from." He really was feeling down right now; even Yosuke's stupid remarks didn't help to change his mood.

"Listen, we really need to know where Kanji is, he might be in deep troubles right now." Yosuke tried to convince him. "Hmm… How about you get me some clues about that Kanji person, it really could help." Clues…? Teddie wanted clues about him?

It's true that other than the fact he's a scary guy, we don't know him well. Still, I don't see why Teddie needs to know more about him: maybe he needs to sniff more?

We got out of the TV world and split up to get our hints about Kanji. The first person I went to see was his mother. After all, who can know him better than her? When I approached the textile shop, she was right in front of it and seeing me coming, she guessed what I was here for at some points "Oh, are you here to ask about Kanji too? *sigh* he's still not here. There also was that small boy who came not long ago. He also asked about him." Wait! That might be the guy from last time; he might have spoken about something with Kanji when he 'asked him out'… "Do you know where I can find him, ma'am?" I asked. "I didn't saw him around lately."

A guy with blue hair who's dressed in blue and wearing a hat; people will sure notice him, especially if he passed by the area. I walked through the shopping district, asking people about him and I heard that he was usually hanging around Junes so that's where I was heading now.

"A small guy with a hat…? Oh yes! I've seen him: he's hanging around here, asking about the… incident. Maybe he'll be back tomorrow." One of the customers at Junes told me. So I really have to wait until tomorrow… I hate waiting like this.

At the end of the day, I returned home, but not before messing with the soccer team (I'm in the obligation to censor this part, even an M rating is too weak to comport such violence, torture and desperate feelings… let alone a T one). Speaking of that, we got a new team manager, Ai Ebihara, she's an arrogant one but I should be able to teach her about the rules in the team: No mercy, both guys and chicks are going to suffer!

I finally returned home and when I opened the door, I was warmly greeted by Nanako "Welcome home, big bro!" I have to admit that the moment she calls me like that is even better than torturing the sucker team members "Hi there, Nanako!" I noticed that she wasn't watching the quiz show today, so I decided to talk with her for a while

"Um, big bro…?" it looks like she wants to say something "Go on, speak." I think this made her more comfortable to open up to me. "Are you… an only child?" …So that what she wanted to know. If I had any sibling back when I was a kid, I wouldn't have felt alone… "Well, I never had a brother or a sister before so… yeah, I am an only child." My answer made her happy for some reasons "Oh! Then you're just like me! But now, I have you so…" she said happily with a wide smile on her face.

"Let's talk more, big bro! Tell me about your school!" she asked, her smile covering her whole face. I'd really like to talk about it, but I don't really know where I should begin "Sure. Ummm… where can I begin…? High School is a moment of your life that will arrive before you know it; I know what I'm talking about. Other than that, I bet you want me to tell you about what I do in there, right?" She just nodded so I proceeded with my little stories with the rest of the gang, censoring some passages (Most of them were Yosuke's dirty jokes and the exploration of the other world) and that's how we spent the rest of the evening, until it was Nanako's bedtime. I also went to get some rest not long after that.

The next day, during lunchtime, a follow classmate came to announce that the previous exam's results have been posted, let's see… As expected! First place babe!

"Wow dude! That's incredible!" Yosuke was watching the board in admiration. I know, Yosuke. I'm awesome. "Did you see Yukiko's grades? She's definitely a genius!" What did he say?! I am the number one here! Yukiko is just number two behind me. "Chie was right; I need her to take me for some 'private lessons'…" he added in a dreaming tone. That's the Yosuke I know, he'll never change.

After school, I immediately rushed to Junes; the blue guy should be there today. I easily found him, near the elevator. I walked toward him and greeted "Good afternoon." He looked at me before asking with a low voice. Why? I don't know. "Can I help you with something?" "Actually, yes. You talked with Kanji Tatsumi two days ago, didn't you?" I asked "That is true, is there something about it?" he asked suspiciously. "I just wanted to know if you noticed something 'strange' with his behavior."

He thought for a moment before answering "Strange, you say… Hmm… if you are talking about the recent events, yes, there was something. I told him straight that he was an odd person, and his expression changed completely; on the basis, his actions were somewhat forced and unnatural, he might have a complex." Bingo! That was it! "Thank you for the information!" I thanked him "… No problem it is natural. Well, if you'll excuse me…" and that's when he left… Himself, he's an odd person. I still think he's a girl… Mouahahahahah! That's not very nice of me, since he had given me a critical clue that will, maybe, change everything.

I quickly took my phone and called the others so we could report to Teddie. After we did so, Teddie began 'sniffing' the area until he found Kanji's location which was a… Sauna… can it get even more wrong…? "C'mere, pussycat… Oh… Such well-defined pecs… There's no need to be scared." Said a voice that sounded like Kanji's, out of nowhere. It seems the answer is yes, this definitely can go even further beyond the limit of the gay realm.

Finally, we decided to enter this living hell. We climbed some stairs, destroying some Shadows in the process, and Teddie warned us about a presence he felt when we reached the third floor.

In fact, we opened a door and we found Kanji, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and holding a microphone. "Oooh, my my! Thank you for your undivided attention! At last, I've penetrated the facility. But, I've yet to have any charming encounters, could this fog be the cause? It's like steam rising from sweat! Ummm, my body's tingling with excitement! Well then, onward and deeper to reach further realms of romance! Let's get going, dammit!" with that he left, letting us all cringe in disgust. Are these really Kanji's true feelings? or just his Shadow being a jerk.

"This so wrong in so many ways…" thanks to describe the feeling for us, Yosuke." It seems much worse than that time with Yuki-chan's Shadow… at this rate it might end up getting 'bear' naked." Teddie joked, as always.

"Bear… naked…" repeated Yukiko with a smile. Oh god, she is going to turn into a hyena. I took a deep breath to prepare my 'nerd' healing combo and when I was about to launch it "…Was I supposed to laugh?" she asked. "NEEEE- *cough* *cough* *cough*" this is what I call: a counter-nerd. After that, we moved to the next floor, with Teddie kind of ashamed that his joke doesn't 'smell' so good.

We walked a little before Teddie felt something "The other Kanji's watching us! It seems he's talking to you, Sensei!" What the hell?!

"Hey, there cutie pie! Are you trying to break the barrier of the acceptable, just like me?" the Shadow asked me "Shut the hell up! I swear to god that when I find you, I'll crush you and send you to oblivion!" I shouted, full of rage. It seems he took it the very wrong way "Oooh! Does that mean you're yearning for me? It makes me so happy!" he said with that tone again—do I really have to describe it?!

Anyways, we finally reached the room where Kanji and his Shadow were. "Ooh, how I hate girls…" began the Shadow "They are so arrogant and so self-centered! They cry when you're angry, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies… they look at me like some… some disgusting THING and say I'm 'weird'… always laughing at me! 'Sewing? Painting? These aren't things a guy must be doing.' 'Why aren't you manly?' What is it to be a man…what is it to be 'manly'?! Girls are scary… Men, one the other hand, accept each other regardless of the differences." Now, Kanji was at his limits "The hell with this, what makes you think you can say this shit with MY face?!" The Shadow wanted to reach the point we all expected "Why, because you're me… And I'm you… *chuckle* You do know that, don't you?"

"Eh… Leader, shouldn't we try to avoid a fight?" Yosuke suggested. "No, let's let him face himself, he'll feel better after that."

"No! There's no way in hell that you're me!" yelled Kanji. What happened next was predictable: the Shadow turned into a monster… The gayest looking thing in the world! It actually was huge Shadow with on the top of it Kanji's Shadow himself, in the middle of a flower bed. He was also holding a metal male symbol on each hand. Kanji immediately collapsed after this. We prepared for the fight.

_Normal POV:_

All the investigation team took their fighting stance. The Shadow himself seemed to have a lot of surprises for them; he punched the ground and two gigas-like macho men appeared. "Let me introduce to you my friends: the Nice Guy and the Tough Guy! Well then, I'll let you get to know each other 'better'… Khihihih!" With that, the big Shadow backed off; playing as a spectator. "Then we'll just have to take care of your 'friends' and after that, you're next, big boy." provoked Chie.

"Okay, leader. Don't you think we should first take care of this 'Nice Guy'?" proposed Yosuke, turning to Yu "Yeah, it'll make the fight easier." replied the silver-haired youth. The Nice Guy was obviously faster than the Tough Guy, but a little weaker in terms of physical strength, the idea was to isolate him from his other counterpart. The problem was: those Shadows were nothing like imbeciles; they wouldn't split up and rush to the fight heads down… except for the Tough Guy, maybe if he is putted in a certain situation. That idea crossed Yu's mind who immediately tried to cast a Provoke spell on him with the help of Nekomata. As he expected it, the now enraged Shadow ran after him. "Guys, defeat the other by yourselves; I'll try to hold this one for a while!" said the leader, running from the mad beast.

"We get it; let's show them what we've got! Konohana-Sakuya, I summon you!" said Yukiko, summoning her persona which casted a rain of fire on the other monster. It proved to be useless since the latter received minor damages if there were any. "My turn!" Chie summoned her own persona which tried to freeze the monster. However, he just absorbed the ice created by Tomoe.

The team then prepared for the Shadow's counterattack. He first used a Heat Riser on himself and then, he charged Yosuke; the only one who didn't try any offensive move yet. "Oh no! They killed Yosuke!" screamed Yukiko in horror. "You bastards!" Shouted Chie. (A/N: Sorry guys, I HAD to put this one.)

However, Yosuke quickly recovered and used a Garula on the monster who showed major pain from the attack compared to the two other attempts "Hey, girls! I'm still alive!" "Oh yeah? Good for you." Chie ran toward the Shadow and kicked his ass, literally. The effects were still better than with the Bufula.

"How entertaining, you really are getting along well with them." Shadow Kanji was still watching them fighting like a king or an emperor. Yu, on his side, was still trying to buy some time, the Tough Guy was faster than he expected him to be and he had to cast Sukukaja more than once on himself.

In the end, Yosuke gave the Nice Guy a critical hit that put the latter off balance and all the team, except Yu of course, got ready for an all-out attack. "Alright! We're done with him. Partner, you can bring the other here!" Yu now attracted the other Shadow to their direction "Hah, that's not too soon! Anyways, don't even think about using fire-based and physical attacks; he blocks both." He warned.

That's how they went for an exhibition of magical attacks, except fire of course: Yukiko's job from here was fully focused on support. They ended up beating his ass real hard since his friend wasn't here to help and the boss preferred to watch him die like this.

"That should do it for those two freaks! Now, it's your turn big gay—" before Yu could finish his sentence, Shadow Kanji gave him blow on the head with his iron symbol, sending him flying away until he banged it against a wall and fall to the ground. His face was now a bloody mess and he could hardly breathe. His vision also started to blur.

He felt a warm liquid cooling all around his face, passing by his mouth. He tasted it with his tongue and thought "Salty…So this is how it's tastes like…"

"Yu!" "Sensei!" the voices of his friends spread in his mind before losing themselves to oblivion. He completely lost consciousness.

His comrades began running toward him before Yosuke interrupted them "No! Stay where you are!" they all stopped in their track and looked at the Magician "We still have a Shadow to take care of, focus!" The three others were about to argue, but once they saw the look on Yosuke's face, more a look of anger than a bossy look, an anger that would only be calmed after justice was done for what the Shadow did to his follow comrade. "Let's make him pay! Grrrr!" yelled Teddie.

The three remaining front liners surrounded their enemy who shouted with both anger and desperation "You all think I'm weird… Deep down… You don't accept me at all! I already made my decision, get out of my way… Or I'll crush you!" "I analyzed him for you, guys: Go all out with him, he won't absorb anything!" said Teddie giving the 'ok' to beat the shit out of Kanji's shadow.

"Get ready for the ultimate Skill Fusion!" said Yosuke looking the two girls who nodded to each other. "Come, Konohana-Sakuya! Agilao!" "Let's do this, Tomoe! Bufula" the two Personas appeared and launched at each other their respective aliments spells. The ice encountering the fire melted creating water. "Now's our chance, Jiraiya! Full powered Garula!" Yosuke summoned his Persona too who released a strong wind spell on the water created by the clash between Chie and Yukiko's ice and fire, fusing with it and transforming into a typhoon that sucked the Shadow in it.

After that, the Shadow returned to his original form and was now lying on the ground. "*pant* *pant* we're finally done with him." Everyone was exhausted after putting all their strength into the Fusion Skill. "G-Guys? He's still moving! Kanji's still not accepting him!" warned Teddie.

In fact, the Shadow got back on his feet and looked in the direction of the team "Such a passionate approach… I think you guys… would make wonderful boyfriends." he said in his dreaming and lazy tone. "Eeerk! You got it all wrong!" Yosuke tried to argue. "I don't care who… won't someone, anyone, please accept me…?! Accept me for who I am!" The Shadow desperately said. "Stop it!"

At that moment, Kanji, who woke up, rushed toward his other self and punched hardly in the face. "Tch. Can't believe something like this exists within me. I've known all this time that I had something like you! The chicks or the guys weren't the real problem at all: I was just scared shitless of being rejected. I'm a pansy who tries to make everyone hate me…" It took Kanji a lot of efforts to say all this, maybe because of his pride? Yukiko approached him and put her hand on his shoulder "You're not alone; we're with you." She said reassuringly. "Thanks…" Yosuke then addressed directly Yukiko "Would you mind check if Yu is alright?" "Oh, yes, of course."

"C'mon now, get up! You look like me, so I know you're not so weak to succumb to a punch. You're me… And I'm you, dammit!" said Kanji, accepting his other half who became a Persona, Take-Mikazuchi: a huge robot-like persona with a skeleton design on his body and holding a thunder symbol.

_~In a foggy place~_

_Yu's POV:_

"Where… Am I…? This place looks familiar… I've been there before…" There was fog everywhere; I could barely see what stood in front of me.

"Enjoying 'yourself' here?" Did I say that just now? Of course, I recognize that this looks like my voice, but I'm sure I didn't say anything at all. "Are you done thinking? You look like an old man… Tsk!" he's the one who's getting old! "Show yourself, coward! Where are you?" I shouted at him, waiting for him to show his nasty face. "As you wish… Other self." Did he just say what I think he said? A silverette began appearing before me. From what I could tell, it must've been a young man he had the same age as me and when I could completely see his face, I just stood there; a chill ran down my spine: what I feared to see was standing before me, the thing that I wanted the less to encounter now, the thing that knows everything about me: my Shadow.

"Yes, I am what you think I am. Because… I am you, and you are me…" Those words made my blood run cold. "Y-Your my Shadow, I am you and you are me! So, what's up about this? Why are you here?" "I myself don't know what I'm doing here. All I know is: a part of your Persona has been released by a powerful being, but I somehow kept the other part. As for the first question, are you really accepting me as your other half… or are you just feeling that you have due to the others' experiences?"

I didn't know it myself; I saw my friends facing their Shadows, reject them, almost get killed and then accepting them. But what about me…? I just was the spectator and the savior. I was… 'Different'. I never knew if that was bad or good. "Maybe, you'll know it if I say all what I think about you." I could feel it, the moment of awful truth coming. "For me, you are everything and anything." "What do you mean by this?"

He remained silent for a moment, and then he spoke again "You should be able to figure out all this by yourself, Mr. Future Detective." "Stop mocking me you imposture!"

_Normal POV:_

Yu ran toward his Dark Side and tried landing a punch on his face, a punch that was blocked effortlessly by the Shadow who immediately counterattacked with a left punch. Yu felt himself being pushed backward, but he didn't feel any pain from the impact. "Tsk! You see?! You just called me an imposture, deep down, you refuse to accept me as your True Self! Come back when you are stronger to face the 'truth', because… we are two sides of the same coin. But for now… GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

The fog began covering the whole area and Yu's vision blurred once more. He was feeling ashamed and useless, like 'yesterday's garbage' as Morooka called him once.

_In the sauna~ The TV world:_

"…Huh… I feel great, right now: it's like my mind's all cleared up!" said Kanji, exhausted, but kind of satisfied too. "That's a sure thing… Yukiko, is Yu waking up? How is he doing?" asked Yosuke, clearly concerned about his partner's condition after the deadly blow he took. "Um… he's still unconscious… Uh! Everyone, I think he's moving!" that was good news for the whole gang who started gathering around him.

"Hey, dude? Can you hear me?" asked Yosuke, trying to help the sliverette wake up faster. "Grrrr…" Yu made a weird noise that made Chie chuckle "Hihi, he's acting like a baby who's just done sleeping." Yu starting getting up, still making some weird noises "ARrrgh! Ghhhh…" "Now, it ain't sounding like a baby at all" remarked Kanji.

Suddenly, Yosuke ordered "Everyone! Get back!" Much as a reflex, the others made a jump backward, and they were thankful they did so; Yu just tried to slash the whole group with his Katana and it seemed to be a serious attempt of murdering: he didn't hold back at all. "What's up with you, dude?!" shouted the Magician with both anger and disbelief. He knew his leader was mad at times, but he never reached such a limit. Yu was like… Controlled by an evil soul or a beast "Grrrr! Waaaaargh!"

Slowly, he began raising his head, revealing the blood on his face that was slightly moped by Yukiko and his tired, grey eyes… Actually, something was up with them, they weren't the usual grey everyone got accustomed to. They had something else; different, but familiar. Something they've seen before and that disturbed them every time. The eyes of their Other Halves. His eyes were now a shining yellow.

"Y-Y-Yu… Not you… *sniff*" Yukiko could barely speak because of the tears running down her cheeks and it was normal: Even if Yu have been an ass most his time with them, even if he was rude and heartless at times… he was a friend they all liked: he was a brother, a mentor but especially, a leader.

The possessed youth tried to pierce Yosuke with his long weapon, but the teenager was able to dodge to the left at the right time. The Magician, however, felt his right cheek burn and he felt something wet cooling down to his chin. He slowly raised two of his fingers to touch the spot and when he looked at them, he found some red liquid on them, blood. "What has gotten into you…?" he prepared to blast him away with a wind spell, but the attack never came. Was he too scared? Too scared of hurting his comrade who, in this state, wouldn't think twice before taking a bath with their own blood? He didn't knew what to do, he was trembling, he was confused… he was powerless. Suddenly, his stomach began hurting him; he even stopped breathing for a second: Yu just gave him a kick right in this spot with all his strength, causing his poor friend to get on his knee and cough really hard. The sliverette didn't stop here; he raised his Katana and prepared to finish the Magician's life once and for all.

Yosuke closed his eyes, he was feeling powerless at no end: he was about to die here, in this unknown world, without being able to do a thing and between the hands of a brother in arms. He waited for the final blow to come… which never came: he believed hearing an explosion of some kind, be he didn't hear the metallic sound of the weapon.

He finally opened his eyes and saw that the Fool was some feet away from him, lying on the ground and some smoke was raising from his body, he also saw Konohana-Sakuya and Yukiko and then, he understood: as the other teenager was about to cut him in half, Yukiko summoned her persona and casted a fire spell on him, just strong enough to move him away, so he was still alive.

Their moment of breather, however, was short: Yu slowly got back on his feet and glared at Yukiko while howling like a wolf "Aoouuuuuu! Rrrrrgh…" he began walking toward his aggressor, bending his arms like some scary werewolf. At the moment he was about to scratch her, someone struck him with a wooden board. That someone was Kanji.

"Ya want some hard time y'punk?" he shouted at Yu who just was getting even more enraged. He released a war cry before jumping on the tough guy and gave him the beating of his life with each punch stronger than the other. The gashed teen, already exhausted with recent event, barely had enough strength to defend himself, especially with his torturer blocking his hands with his knees. He could just take every hit given to him as violent as they were and let the Fool transform his face into a mess of bumps and blood: to the point he couldn't feel it anymore.

It lasted for a while before Chie jumped and gave the wild human a kick on the face, saving the newcomer. Yu was just getting even more pissed off by each intervention of what a while ago where his friends. He began running toward the brunette the werewolf way, but the green jacket wearer launched a Bufu on him. At the moment she thought he would take the hit, he punched the block of ice sending it back to the user who dodged it, making her drop her guard. At this moment, Yu picked Chie by her throat and began strangling her.

He strangled her harder and harder after every second passing, causing the poor girl to scream in agony. "Y-Yu *sob*" she couldn't hold her tears back anymore. Teddie, who was hiding behind a wall since the tragic turn of events, decided to come out and face his 'sensei' "Stop it now, Sensei! We're you're friends. Friends are here to help each other, not to cause harm between them!"

If talking was enough for Yu to get his sense back, everyone wouldn't have suffered that much. Yu just ignored Teddie and resumed pressing Chie's throat; she was looking at him with sadness and despair.

Fate sure was a cruel thing that likes to play with people's feeling and sensations; it enjoys seeing them tremble with fear and then sigh in relief just to repeat the procedure… and this until it gets tired of the person itself and decide to leave them to Death, the end of everything in their life.

"WAKE UP NOW, YOU FOOL!" cried Yosuke who rushed toward his partner and gave a left punch on his face, causing him to let go of Chie and to spin mid-air before falling to the ground.

All the gang waited a moment before Yu began getting up again, slowly. "Nnnn… What's… happening?" everyone sighted in relief; Yu was back! He was going back to normal! "Why are you guys looking at? And what's up those faces, especially yours, Kanji? Was there a third world war?" asked the leader innocently and oblivious to what happened earlier.

"You see, Sensei, you… Kind of went Bear-serk a while ago and you attacked everyone." The bear decided to tell the sliverette everything that happened moments ago: how he was making wild noises, how he almost beat Kanji to death, how he strangled Chie and how Yosuke woke him up.

Yu was looking down, both ashamed and confused: he couldn't believe what he made his comrades go through because of him "Man, I can't believe this… you sure had suffer a lot because of me…" Kanji, who thanks to Yukiko's healing skills, was cured of all the marks of his previous fight, tried to cheer the Fool up "It's not your fault, dammit. I am the one to blame: if my 'Shadow' wasn't here, you would have been spared this." "Anyways, I think we should leave you some rest before explaining the whole situation to you from the beginning." Said the leader "Yeah… You better…"

In the end, they got out of the TV world, clean of any scratch but still exhausted. Yosuke would help Kanji go home, Chie and Yukiko had some shopping to do and Yu returned straight home. As he expected it, his uncle knew that Kanji was back and he decided to tell him "Hey, you remember the kid, Kanji Tatsumi who went missing last time? I wanted to inform you that he was found." "Really…? This is good, then."

He still had something to tell Yu, something that left the Fool know that he had to be careful with him around "By the way, I heard that you have been visiting the textile shop recently: this isn't a place any regular student go to." Yu thought for a moment before finding the best excuse "Well, my friend kind of dragged me there…" Dojima could easily guess who that friend was "Are you talking about the Amagi girl? Yeah, her family's inn buys their stuff wholesale… *sigh* Fine… Just don't get yourself in over your head, okay?" _This again?! _Yu thought. Thankfully, Nanako was here to cool the atmosphere down "Are you two fighting again?" "No, it's nothing like fighting, really." Yu reassured her.

Kanji was safe, but the case was far from being over. Still, Yu hopes that what happened earlier won't repeat again…

Yu: Damn… How did my shadow get into my head…? And how dare he call me weak!

Defog2000: Meh, maybe you are…

Yu: Hey!

Defog2000: Hold on boy, there is a way to become stronger.

Yu: Really…? How?

Defog2000: *Summons Persona* Well… trial and error. You just have to think how to become stronger by fighting… which begins NOW!

Yu: *Summons Izanagi* BRING IT ON!

~From a spot of the room~

KeyToUnivers: *sigh* He's far from being ready to accept you, dude.

Yu's Shadow: I guess I'll leave him some more time.

KeyToUnivers: Hey, how about we go and have an ice cream with Minato and Minako, you know? The protagonists of Persona 3.

Yu's Shadow: Sure, I wonder if Nobodies and Shadows share some common points. (If you don't know what we are talking about, check my cross-over 'Persona 358/2 days')

KeyToUnivers: Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter that I and Defog are presenting to you, do review and voice your opinions about it. Also, don't forget to check Defog2000's own multi-chapter story, I'm sure you'll like it!

See you next time!


	12. Jester, Mysterious Food X, Glasses Issue

_**Chapter XI: The Jester, The Mysterious Food X and The Glasses Issue**_

_Normal POV:_

Just like his waking up routine in the past, Yu woke up a little late in the morning on Sunday.

After taking a good breakfast made of course by his cousin-slash-little sister Nanako, he headed to the shopping district. The sliverette usually went there during Sundays to get his weekly morning walk. However, this time is different: The determined teen wanted to head to the velvet room to find out answers. Answers that will, hopefully, be given after that unusual and deadly incident he and the 'Investigation Team' (More like teenagers with super powers) had experienced.

_Who knows what Mr. Long Nose can tell me…_ he thought silently before opening the blue door that only he could see. He was greeted by the usual blinding light before finding himself sitting in front of the table that separated him and the two other residents of the Velvet Room.

"Hey there. I pretty much bet you know why I'm here, old man." Yu said, skipping the formalities.

Igor remained silent for a couple of seconds, his head down and supported by his hands covered in his white gloves, before raising it and replying with his usual calm voice "Yes, my dear guest. It is indeed something strange and unexpected that happened in the middle of your journey."

"I don't understand the whole thing: Why did my Shadow appear while I have my Persona already?! Why did he attack my friends by taking possession of my body?! Isn't a Shadow supposed to reflect your true self? I never wanted to cause my friends any harm! So why?!" The angry teen was beginning to lose his self-control, yelling harshly at them and getting up his seat while closing his right hand into a fist.

He soon realized his mistake as shouting would not solve everything. His gazed turned towards his feet while he grimaced.

He finally relaxed his muscles and sat down without raising his head.

"I'm sorry… I'm confused with all this and… that's it." He apologized as he looked back at the residents of the room.

"Don't worry, it isn't your fault. However, you misunderstood a certain point." Igor answered, causing the teenager to give him a questioning look. He thought again about what he just said, but didn't saw the black point in any word. He asked for more explanations.

"What is that point?"

"It is about your Shadow: he never attacked your friends nor did he take control of your body." The confused teen stood there, frozen, his mouth, still open with confusion. All what Igor said didn't make any sense to him yet: he was still blaming his Shadow for all what happened in the TV world.

Igor didn't just stop there and proceeded with lighting his guest's mind.

"The truth about you, losing your reason and turning against your companions, is the clash that occurred in your mind: One of you- your shadow or you – has been rejecting the other. Thus, it caused a problem in your brain and mind."

Yu recognized that he was the one turning back on his Shadow, but he still didn't understand the cause of him getting wild.

He closed his eyes and remembered the moment when he met 'his other self': except the reaction of self-defense from the Shadow, he didn't see any act of aggressiveness or hostility coming from him which was weird. Up 'til now, all the Shadows he has encountered sought for power through their human selves' rejection.

Margaret clearly saw through the silver-head's expression the he was confused. She was the one who, this time, indirectly gave him the answer "Yu-sama, tell me: what is the difference between a wild beast and a human with no control of his mind?"

By assembling Igor's words with Margaret's, the pieces of the puzzle began getting together for Yu, he answered Margaret's question right away "There is no difference: if the human cannot have the control of his actions, he is nothing different from an animal. I think I finally understand what you are trying to tell me."

He paused for a moment, realizing that he going berserk wasn't actually his Shadow's fault. He also had this desire, now; the desire to meet him again and try to hear what he actually have to say.

But, a new fear was born within him. He asked Igor about it "But what if I encounter him again; what if I lose control of myself because of the misunderstanding between us? What is it that I didn't accept about myself?"

Igor didn't quite give him the answer he was searching for which didn't surprise him "What causes the conflict between your two sides, is something that is beyond my knowledge, but at your range if you succeed seeing it."

The Narukami teen just nodded before thanking the old man and the young lady "Thank you for the answers you gave me," he then looked toward Margaret "Anyways, I still have something to do here: Margaret, I have some Personas I wanna fuse, can you help me with this?"

The yellow-haired woman gave him a small nod and answered "Of course, Yu-sama."

After Yu did what he had to do in the Velvet Room, he walked out of the room and found himself in the crowded shopping district, again. He began walking. Where, you ask? Nowhere. He was walking, just to walk, to think about things. It's an old habit of his, without even minding his direction.

As he walked aimlessly along the local shopping district, his mind was lost in thought, thinking about the conversation he had with Igor and Margaret. Yu didn't even realize that he reached the entrance of Junes. Since he was already here, he decided to kill some time there by watching all what they had in stock, when he noticed a familiar presence there: Tohru Adachi, his uncle's bit— …err, partner.

The young boy decided to approach the man who was standing near the elevators. "Well well, good morning, Adachi-san."

The detective turned to face the teenager before replying "Oh! You must be Dojima-san's nephew… Yu Narukami, right?" he paused for a moment then he asked "What are you doing here? Killing time?"

"You can actually say this, how about you?" Yu asked curiously.

"I was checking the goods and it seems it's nothing like what I expected: life here sure is different from the big city…" Adachi said causing the wild card wielder to laugh a little.

"Hey, it's not that bad, after all."

He gave him a look of depression before sighing "You'll notice soon that this town is really dead. Take this—my first assignment here was tracking down a cat. My suit got so dirty and they wouldn't let me expense the dry cleaning bill! Next, I played peacemaker in a spat some married couple was having. I can't believe they've got the police doing that stuff."

Yu couldn't help but snicker about the whole thing "Hahaha, you really are living the hell of a life!"

Adachi let out a nervous laugh before answering "Hah, you can actually say this. But right now, I can't allow myself to kick back; there is that one case that is still unsolved. Man, we still don't have a single clue about this case…"

He stayed silent for a moment before realizing what he said "Oh! Sorry, I hope I'm not making you nervous. You have nothing to worry about; we in the local Inaba police department are on the job!" The detective said, brimming full of confidence and hitting his torso to design himself.

_Man, if the police that's 'on the job' is made of persons like him… that is faaaaaaaaaaar from being over. _The silverette thought. Right after the moment he thought about that, he felt his head aching.

_Thou art I… And I am thou_

_Thou hast established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to the truth…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Jester Arcana…_

_The Jester Arcana…?_ Yu thought. _That's something new…_

The young detective turned to the exit of Junes "Well, it's about time I get back to work."

Before Adachi could leave, someone came out of a nearby elevator; it was an old woman. For some reasons, he quickly got behind Yu to hide from her. After she left, he gave out a sigh of relive as he prepared to leave "Now I'll be going, see ya!" before he got out, he turned to face the teenager again and added "Oh, and please, don't tell Dojima-san I was in Junes, okay?"

"Aha! So you were slacking, huh?!" the detective didn't answer and got back to whatever business he had.

The days after this were kind of boring for our young hero: attending class, hanging out separately with the rest of his team… Until that day came.

It was one of those days where he decided to spend his afternoon with Yukiko. She asked him to taste some food she prepared herself, telling him that she wasn't a good cook. Yu, like some naïve kid, told her that it couldn't be that bad… and how he would have loved to kick his own ass, back when he said this.

They went to the Samegawa Flood Plain and sat on a bench. Yukiko took out the bento containing what she prepared. At that moment, the sliverette felt like he was some guinea pig or something like this, not only did Yukiko say that she wasn't a good cook, but she also added that she didn't taste it herself before.

Our young food taster began to analyze the… food? If you can call it like that, that was in front of him: First thing was the odor which could be anything but appetizing. Then, there was the aspect which was… What it was.

Cautiously, he began by taking a bit of the thing that looked like an omelet: It was actually soft… But soon his teeth encountered something hard, too hard to bite. Our poor sliver haired protagonist was beginning to have difficulties not to throw up the whole thing. The smell also didn't help.

Yukiko wasn't an idiot; she clearly saw that her leader wasn't enjoying the meal at all "… You're not about to tell me how delicious that was, are you?"

If you asked me, I would tell you that Yu Narukami is the biggest asshole I've ever encountered (Or wrote as an OOC: I'm kind of responsible for his character). But, believe me or not, he's a real gentleman… when he wants to. So the sliverette tried to get the girl to continue improving her skills without discouraging her "Hey, c'mon: There is always a next time, you know?"

Those words alone were enough for Yukiko to be relieved. She also promised her friend that she would work as hard as she can to increase her capacities.

That night, since it was rainy, Yu decided to watch the MC just to make sure there was nothing. Just like last time, there was nothing on the screen.

_Hahah, I'm dying to know what kind of face the culprit is making, right now…_ The teenager thought, silently laughing.

The next day, there was some good news awaiting our friends: Kanji was coming back to school! They all decided to meet on the rooftop after school. And when the moment arrived…

The four members of the investigation team were waiting for the new comer to get here, which didn't take long. Kanji walked toward the little group, looking nervous for some reasons "H-Hi there!"

Chie, loyal to her usual idiotic self, said something completely random "Haha, where'd the manners come from?" she was kind of right: even if Kanji was taller than the four of them, he still remained their Kouhai: a year younger than the rest of the team, actually.

"Well… I didn't know you guys were my senpais," said Kanji, making all of them laugh before getting back to the serious matters "Uhh… Thanks a bunch. Though I don't really remember what happened…"

The team asked Kanji about the blue-heard boy's identity which led to negative answers from the tough guy who didn't even know his name. The formal delinquent also voiced the difficulties he had for interacting with girls, and how he felt more at ease around guys.

"All this was in my head, after all. So uhh… Our family's run a textile shop for generations… Oh yeah, you already know that. My parents are kinda weird… They say stuff like 'Dyes are one with the universe' and 'Cloth is alive' that's the kinda house I grew up in. So I've been interested in sewing and stuff since I was a kid. But the second I say stuff like that, people look at me funny. Girls make fun of me… and the people in the neighborhood treat me like I'm some zoo animal, so I was sick of everything."

Everyone was listening to Kanji, but no one was relating to him as much as Yu did: the sliverette could definitely remember all those times he spent alone, away from both his parents who were 'too busy' (what a lousy excuse) to pay enough attention to him, and away from the kids his age who had 'cooler' ambitions than becoming detectives and who wouldn't lay a finger on ANY kind of book with white pages and black words.

"Man, forget all what I said. Huh, you all just listen to me, going on and on with my personal issues… I must look really lame, right now." Kanji said, looking down to his feet.

"No, dude. There are always moments when you have to voice your thoughts: that's why friends are made for, after all." Yu replied, seeing himself through the tough guy.

"Heheh, y-ya think so…? Anyways, I never talked about any of this stuff before. Maybe it's 'cause I never had anyone to tell it to. When I think more about it, the girls weren't the real problem; I was just afraid of people in general. But it's all in the past, now." Everyone saw this as a good beginning for the young teen.

"By the way, do you remember what actually happened before you got inside the TV? Y'know, after you had your talk with the other guy." Yosuke asked.

"Huh? Well, I went home… And then, I was gonna sleep it off in my room… Wait, I think someone came… but it's just a feeling; I'm not sure if someone actually came though." Kanji couldn't remember what happened to him, too. It was like the culprit had some special abilities to make his victims forget all what happened between the moment he kidnaps them and the moment they are already inside the TV world.

"By the way, are you guys playing detectives or something? 'Cause if you need help, know that I ain't gonna rest until the bastard who put me through this is caught, and then I'll make him pay!" Kanji said, offering his help to the small group who happily accepted it.

"Okay, you're in! But know one thing: there's no turning back and this isn't a game." Yu said wanting to make sure that his Kouhai was willing to take the risk.

"Y-Yes, sir! I'll put my life on the line for you guys." answered Kanji immediately.

The team then decided to introduce the newcomer to Teddie. But, not before he and the young sliver haired leader stuffed their faces in front of their shocked friends.

"Umm… Partner… Shouldn't you and Kanji be listening to what we have to-" Yosuke tried to tell his leader, but the sliverette would NEVER put anything before his meal.

"Shul uf, Yoshke! It'sh chof time!" Yu muffled as his mouth was full of food.

Once the duo was done 'eating', they were able to fully focus on serious matter at hand: the investigation "So, I think you'll be able to understand the whole thing once we get inside of the TV." Chie said before everyone headed toward the other side of the screen, making sure nobody else was seeing them, of course.

"Hey, Kanji. Just to let you know: We all came up with the theory that the people who appear on the regular channels shortly before the rainy nights are the one that are targeted." Yu informed Kanji about their discoveries up 'til now and how the case was advancing so far.

By the time they arrived in the 'Safe Zone' of the TV world, they found Teddie who immediately came to welcome them. Kanji also seemed to remember him "Ah, yeah… I kinda remember this thing. Didn't think it was a bear, though." He pause for a moment before asking "Hey, why IS it a bear?"

"I don't know, I've been wondering about this for awhile." Replied Teddie. For some reasons, Kanji was beginning to get excited.

"I-It's kinda cute… M-Mind if I pet you?" Kanji tried to come near the blue bear and lay a hand on him, but the latter moved backward and yelled at the tough guy.

"No touching allowed, mister!"

Teddie's reaction offended Kanji a little "Wha-?! Don't give me any lip, bear! Huh… Anyways, I've been wondering. You were kidnapped too, right, Yukiko-senpai?"

"Hm?... Oh, right. It was a moment before you."

"So like, this means you came out to everyone too?" innocently asked Kanji.

"T-That's… um…" It looked like Yukiko took Kanji's words the wrong way since she instantly slapped him (A/N: poof that the guys aren't the only ones having dirty thoughts most of the time…)

"Aw! M-My jaw…" Kanji groaned in pain, massaging the spot where he got the hit.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you so hard… I'll be more gentle next time…" Yukiko said apologetically.

"More… Gentle…?" repeated Kanji in a dreaming tone.

"So, Kanji got Yukiko now…" said Yu before addressing directly Teddie "That leaves you and me, big guy. The duo of singles." But, Yosuke corrected him immediately.

"The trio! You forgot about me, partner!" The sliverette looked at the Magician arcana wielder before replying.

"Did you forget about Chie?! That's mean, you know?" the Fool said, provoking them.

"W-What do you mean?!" shouted Chie who was violently blushing. But Yu just ignored her.

"You should look out Yosuke: you could hurt your girl's feel—" The young leader never finished his sentence since Yosuke approached Yukiko and said "Oww… C'mon, partner! You know that I prefer being around girls like Yukikooo~" He was beginning to get closer to the Priestess when out of nowhere, her best friend, the Carnivore, crushed his head with a hammer that read on it: 100t. (A/N: If you can figure out from which anime I took this running gag, then you really are amazing!)

Everyone watched the whole thing silently before Teddie finally broke this silence "…Oh, Kanji! Here's your pair of glasses! To celebrate you joining the team."

The Emperor took them and wore them… Just to notice that they were different from the others': these were the ridiculous pair that Yukiko loved sooooo much. And it seemed like she wasn't completely unknown to this business.

"It looks perfect on you… Snrk… Ahahahahahah!" Yukiko took back her hyena attitude.

Such a laugh from the hyena didn't go unnoticed by our sharp-eyed protagonist who used his usual medical quote

"Neeeeeeeeeerd!" which ended being as effective as always.

"I had a normal pair ready for you. But, Yuki-chan insisted on this one. She wouldn't budge!" Teddie said in an act of self-defense.

Kanji didn't seem to appreciate the joke; he quickly took the other pair of glasses the bear was holding and was surprised to hear everyone laugh at him

"You took my spare pair… Kanji, you must really like those!"

The voice of Yosuke coming from under the ground could be heard. He was laughing too "Hahahah! I can imagine the whole thing from here! Haha—ouch! My neck!"

After the newcomer got familiar with the new environment and Yosuke recovered from the hammer attack he got from Chie (And deserved), everyone got out of the TV world and Yu decided to pay the residents of the Velvet Room a visit. However, today he got some surprises.

First thing, Igor was nowhere to be seen. And then, he saw Margaret talking with an unfamiliar young man.

It was a young boy around his age. He was some inches smaller than him, but he was well-built with a pale skin and spiky dark-gray hair with some fringes in front of a crimson headband that was covering his forehead. As for his eyes, they were of a red that was matching his headband. He was wearing a black tank-top that revealed his developed muscles and some blue pants with a yellow belt. He also was wearing a pair of dark boots. For some odd reasons, he wore a white cape which had some kind of shoulder guards.

What drew more attention in this young man was the big and thick sword behind his cape that he carried with a black scabbard and a gray strap that went across his chest.

The conversation occurring between Margaret and the unknown boy drew Yu's curiosity.

"I think that will be enough Shadow Gems, for now; I did my part of the job and I'm counting on you to do yours." The red-eyed teen said.

"Of course, Misaki-sama. You can expect it to be ready after a day in your world… Oh, Yu-sama. Were you here all the time? Please, forgive me for not noticing your presence." Margaret said, as she finally noticed the confused teen standing in a corner.

"Well then, bye, Margaret!" the young man, now known as Misaki, said with a smile while making his way to the door.

"Farewell, Misaki-sama."

As Misaki arrived near Yu, he stopped and looked at him; his red eyes meeting the leader's gray ones as if he was reading his mind through them. They stayed like this for a moment before Misaki finally left, but the silverette was pretty sure that he heard him say something like 'I see…' before leaving the Velvet Room completely.

"Umm… Yu-sama. Are you alright?" Margaret's voice caused Yu to jump backward and then reply awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine." The young Persona-user realized that he has been staring at the door, asking himself countless questions about the presence of someone else than him in the Velvet Room.

Yu sat near Margaret and first asked the question that must be asked in those rare situations "Where is Igor?"

"The master said that he had some business somewhere."

"And who was that guy I just saw?"

"He is another guest here, in the Velvet Room. I am not allowed to tell you more about him; if you have questions regarding him, you will have to ask him straight."

After that, there was a pause before Margaret resumed the conversation "However, Yu-sama, you must know that nothing meaningless happens in the Velvet Room: your encounter with the other guest and our meeting here alone is tightly linked to your fate, so let me introduce myself again…" Yu looked at her confused: Why would she introduce herself again, out of the blue?

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. I am Margaret. I am the one who rules over power, invited here after my predecessor's sudden disappearance. You may be the first person who has been welcomed here by someone other than my master. The Velvet Room is inseparable from the heart of its invited guest… The shape of the room and its residents are selected by my master, based on the number of guests and their destiny… Shall we chat? I feel that is what I am called to do."

As Margaret talked, Yu notice that she was slightly different from usual: She was smiling and looked at him gently… And you know what this mean, kids? Voices in his head!

_Thou art I… And I am thou…_

_Thou hast established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to the truth…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Empress Arcana…_

"You have several social links already… You know more than anyone that you strengthen them after each meeting and each exchange of words. But sometimes, the heart is shaken more by a single action than a thousand words. Today's meeting might be classified as that single action. I look forward knowing you better *giggle*."

After that, Yu got out of the room and found himself in the shopping district again. He thought about what Margaret told him a minute ago before he realized something

"Goddamit! I left Margaret have a speech and I didn't even made a comment?! Man, it's so out of character for me… Could it be that the others are having a 'bad' influence on me?" his thoughts were soon interrupted when he looked at the sky and saw it was getting late.

"Shit! If I wanna avoid getting in troubles, I should hurry!"

* * *

_**That should do it for the 11th chapter. Thanks to Defog2000 for editing it, do not forget to check his stories!**_

_**In the end of this month, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax will be out for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in English! It's still a shame that the P3 protagonist still is guarding the Seal while everyone is having fun in the Arena (even Junpei, Yukari, Ken and Koromaru are there… And let's not forget Adachi, even if he's a DLC character!)**_

_**Again, enjoy reading and have a good day (or evening, depends on when you read this)!**_

_**Defog2000: Speaking of Persona 4 Arena Ulitmax… LETS BATTLE!**_

_**KeyToUnivers: Huh? No…! Wait! SERIOUSLY!?**_

_**Defog2000: I'll KICK YOUR ASS! *Summons Persona* ITACHI!**_

_**KeyToUnives: Well then, but you should be way more worried about your own… *Summons Persona* HADES!**_


	13. Painful Memories of the Past

_**XII\ Painful Memories of the Past: The Mirror Arcana**_

_~Yasogami high, class 2-2, lunch break~_

The five IT members decided to gather in their classroom and have lunch there: instant noodles, as always. They all would have preferred enjoying their meal on the roof, but at that moment of the year, it was impossible for one good reason.

"It's raining…" The leader said, switching his focus to the window from his meal as waves of water droplets hit against the window.

"You know, the season's just about here." Yukiko said, noticing the long face on her comrade.

"Isn't it a little early?" asked Yosuke as he continues slipping up his noodles with his chopsticks.

"If it goes on like this, we'll have no choice but to check the Midnight Channel constantly." remarked the protagonist.

"Crap, I didn't even think of that. Well, so it goes. Heheh, I thought you were worried about the rain because of the school campout." The Magician said, remembering that their school was organizing camping trip.

"Why are you so excited about it, anyways? The only purpose of the school campout is to 'develop a love for one's hometown in young people', right?" Chie reminded them.

"So, what's up with that?" Yu asked, getting a disgusted look from the Kung-Fu lover, before taking a mouthful of noodles.

"Well, you see, the way we supposedly develop that love is by picking up trash off the mountain." That last bit of information caused the Fool to swallow his food without even chewing it, causing him some pain in his chest.

"P-Picking up trash?! 'Develop a love' my ass! That slave labor!" complained the brunette.

"Was it that much of a painful trip?" the silverette asked, looking Kanji's way.

"Beats me! I usually just ditch those bullshits." The Emperor answered.

"But, the night's kinda fun! We cook our own meals with mess kits and sleep in tents." The Chariot said, trying to bring the positive out of the school campout.

"Oh, and the four of us are in the same group." The Priestess added addressing her comrades with the exception of Kanji of course. This caught the attention of an enthusiastic teenager that was just waiting this kind of opportunity.

"D-Does that mean we'll sleep in the same tent, too?!" he said all excited, so excited that he got up off his chair. But thankfully, Satonaka was here to call him back to Earth.

"You wish: Boys and girls sleep in different tents," she stared at him before continuing "and don't you dare leave your tent, or you'll be expelled on the spot."

Yosuke just sat back on his chair and sighed "Man, this is getting worse and worse And I thought it was gonna be fun."

"But we did have some fun at the river, last year." Chie added which didn't slip away from the pervert's ears.

"Do they let you go swimming?"

"I think so? There's always someone who take a dip… But we didn't." that reply caused an evil smile to form on Yosuke's face.

_~Yasogami high, school building, after school~_

It has been some weeks since Kanji has joined the IT for the big joy of the leader who wanted the tough guy in his team for a moment. Even though, they barely ever spoke with one another after the first time of the thug in the TV world. But, on that day, there would be something that will initiate a promising friendship between the two young men.

Yu was walking in the corridors of his classroom's floor, lost in his thoughts; the same thoughts as always like: what he could have for dinner, what would the culprit be doing at times like these, or more seriously, who was that guy he met in the Velvet Room a couple of weeks prior?

As he made his way in the school block with his eyes closed, he bumped into a brunette girl who was standing near the stairs. When they connected, the girl gasped before eyeing the silverette. Then, she sighed in relief.

"Oh my god I thought you were one of those bullies that have been hanging around the school, lately."

"Well, my bad…"

"You know? I heard one of them was actually the first year who disappeared a month ago." At the reference of his kouhai, the protagonist's eyes widened in surprise: he wasn't expected to hear that Tatsumi would be involved in such disgusting businesses.

"Are you sure of that? I mean, have you been or did you see him bully someone before?"

"To be honest, these are just rumors I heard from friends. Geez, why did I end up in the same school as them?" she said the last part more to herself that anyone around.

"B-By the way, thanks for the info." The teen quickly left the schoolgirl and went to the other block of his school: the Practice Building as most student called it, because of the art, music, drama and home economics clubs being situated there.

As he expected, he found his teammate there. However, he was surprised to find him watching inside the home economics room through the windows. He approached him and called.

"Oi, kanji." The latest member jumped at the mention of his name. Then, relaxed when he noticed it was only his leader.

"S-Senpai! What's up? H-Hey, I wasn't peeping inside or anything!" he said aggressively before calming down and proceeding "You look like you have something to tell me, don't you?"

Narukami wanted to be straight with him, so he immediately told him why he came to him "I do have something to discuss with you, alone if possible." Now, the sophomore really felt like one of those detectives who wanted to investigate a common case of murders only that instead of murders, he had to ask his suspect about bullies.

"I see… Let's discuss it somewhere else then." He proposed.

~Samegawa Flood Plain, after school~

The duo was quietly walking in the road separating the green areas in the plain. Then, Kanji asked the question.

"So, whaddaya want, dragging me out here? Do you wanna tell me off or somethin'?"

"Kinda…" the silverette replied.

"O-Okay… Er— I ain't scared! So what was it?"

"I heard some rumors about you bullying people, with a gang." At this, the tough guy winced, and in total shock for the least we could say.

"Bullies? Me?! Senpai, are you suspecting me?!"

"Hardly, I don't think you would waste time on that kinda business." to those words, Kanji slightly calmed down, a little relieved that his senpai trusted him.

"It hard to believe me since they say I was in a gang, but I don't do it." He stopped a moment, looking down to his feet and resumed speaking with a low voice, almost whispering "…'s my own fault rumors like that go around At this rate, I'll be causing trouble for you, guys."

But, Yu shook his head and told him otherwise "Stop worrying about it, dude. Besides, we're all involved in the hell of a business, right?"

The freshman was now smiling, all happy with what he heard: he felt like he could tell his superior all what was on his mind without any fear "Senpai Whenever you got time, could you maybe hear what I have to say?"

"No prob." The older teen told him with a carefree smile. He then felt a familiar pain in the head followed by a voice.

_Thou art I And I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_It brings thee closer to the truth..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Emperor Arcana..._

_'Yet another social link if I got a Yen every time I got a new one, I would be rich_', thought the Fool.

"Well, to keep you guys away from any trouble, I'll Uh…," the Emperor was thinking of a way to finish his sentence "I know: I'll smack that gang of bullies around!" Upon hearing that, the Wild Card bearer face-palmed.

"Kanji, I don't think this is the way things must be done…"

They chatted for the rest of the way back home before finally separating.

_~Yasogami high, class 2-2, after school~_

It sure was one of those boring days for our silver-haired friend who was sitting in front of his desk, his hands on his face, pretending he was asleep: it already was a miracle that he survived his school day!

As he was resting his eyes, he heard someone coming to him and sort of guessed who it was.

"Hey, guess what I just heard!" said the too familiar voice to Yu.

"Hnnn?" was the only answer the half asleep teenager could give to Yosuke.

"When they're sitting in back of you, it's like a squeeze play!" Yosuke said with that tone that indicated he had some of his weird ideas.

Just as Yu was about to take a nap two seconds ago, he was jumping backward and taking a fighting stance as wild ideas came to his mind.

"G-Goddamit, dude! Kanji already got your ass?! D-Don't come near me!" This made Yosuke look around him in fear before noticing that nobody heard that and sigh in relief. Then, he stared daggers at his partner and yelled while still sweating.

"S-Shit! You're lucky nobody heard you; do you want to get me in trouble or what?!" after that, he calmed down and explained what he was about to explain before the 'friendly' discussion.

"Okay, what I was trying to say was: When there's a girl sitting behind on a motorcycle, they press right up against your back. I think that motorcycles are the hot new thing for guys. Girls like guys who spend time outdoor, right?"

"Sooooo What's up with that?" the Fool asked, losing patience.

"Well, I got you this!" the Magician replied, putting a manual on his friend's desk "Wanna get your license with me, partner?"

Yu examined the manual before looking back at Yosuke; instead of motorcycle, there was scooter written on it, embarrassing Yosuke in the process.

"Well, I can't afford anything bigger than a scooter on my budget, but at least that'll let us get to new places. Don't you think we deserve that much, seeing as how we're investigating the case?"

"Of course, considering that you can't even cycle without ending up in a can or hitting your spot… Muahahahaha!"

At this precise moment, Kanji entered the classroom and walked to his Senpais.

" 'Sup, Senpai. Hey, about the camping trip…" he began before noticing that the two upperclassmen were already in a 'conversation' "You guys busy right now?"

"Yosuke, here, is sharing his idea of getting a motorcycle. I hope you got your insurances ready, Kanji. Hahahahah" Yu's mockeries were really pissing Yosuke off.

The Magician approached the Fool and his face was now an inch away from his. He looked at him dead in his eyes' iris and shouted.

"Okay, Silver-Head! I bet that when we get our scooters I'll ride it better than you!"

Those menaces weren't scaring Yu at all since he replied almost immediately "Sure thing. And I bet that your scooter will die under a month—No, under a week!"

The two of them stayed like this for a moment before Kanji reminded them that he was still around "Guys, why do you need motorcycles anyways? If you're bringing a war, I'll help!"

Yosuke's reaction to this was to face palm, before clearly correcting his friend "No! We're not 'bringing a war' or anything! Man, you know that nowadays, what a guy needs to be a big man is first motorcycle, and then…"

"And theeeeen…?" Kanji and Yu said in union.

"A girlfriend."

"Hmph, Just tell me more!" demanded the silverette.

"Now that's my partner!"

"Hey, are you gonna get your licenses for the big stuff? I mean, you're talking about getting girls on a bike, right? You gotta be seating two, man: That ain't allowed on a scooter." Kanji reminded.

"S-Shut up! This'll work out! As long as we have a motorcycle, the girls will come running! That's all the advantage we'll need! If we still don't have girlfriends, it's because we're stuck here, waiting to meet someone! A scooter alone is the ticket for us to get some chicks! And then, when we get a bigger motorcycle It will be the moment where the 'up close and personal' plan really begins."

While Yosuke was getting enthusiastic about his plan, Kanji was still thinking about one of sentences of the Magician "Up close and personal…"

"Plus, you know, you and me have more of a city boy thing going on. If we're serious about it, we've gotta expand our horizons to a bigger town. No need to wait for anything! We'll roar up on our motorcycles like the badasses we are, and when the chicks come up, we'll play it cool!"

Yu watched Yosuke as the latter was describing their future live as biker mercenaries going to a big town like Tokyo: he had this feeling of 'Déjà vu', but he couldn't tell what the anime where he saw something similar to it was. (A/N: For your information, the anime Yu is thinking about is GTO, do check it: it's a real funny one!)

"The pheromones dripping off of us will bring them around in no time." By the way, I almost forgot to talk about our local delinquent: the brunette actually lost him somewhere during his speech.

"F-Feral… Zone…?"

"No! We're not going to a cat house you idiot. I'm talking about PHEROMONES! My research shows that a motorcycle is the number one surefire way to increase one man's pheromones." the biker wannabe said.

For some odd reason, the tough guy began blushing while repeating the words that Yosuke had said, "Phero… mones… "

"Dude, that's how a perv' would react!" Yosuke shouted, making Kanji take it as a provocation.

"What did ya say?! Fine! Then, I'm in too! Get ready for Kanji Tatsumi to show his manhood to these chicks!" this last part made the silverette laugh like a maniac.

"Wow! Easy now, Kanji: we don't want you to get an illness! Anyways, you just said it yourself: you still have to wait one year to get on this job."

The Magician turned to face his classmate one more time to tell him "Back to serious matters, dude, you got to tell you uncle about it, okay?"

"Got it!" the emperor replied, not noticing that the brunette wasn't addressing him.

"Not you! I don't even know you're uncle!"

"Wow wow! Watch your words with me, got it?!"

"I don't see why I should!"

And that's how the young Narukami found himself witnessing one of the many fights of his two male teammates. Feeling like an intruder in such a 'pleasant' conversation, he decided to grab his bag and head back home (without forgetting his school bag, of course).

As Yu reached the school's gates, he heard someone calling him from behind.

"Oi! Senpai! Wait!" the voice belonged to Tatsumi who was running to catch up to him.

"Oi, Kanji. I thought you were still with Yosuke."

"Nah, I got tired of hearin' him repeatin' the same stuff over n' over. Man, Senpai's a real pain sometimes…," he stopped to catch his breath, and then he proceeded "Hey, how about we grab somethin' to eat?"

Just as the silver-haired teen was about to answer, his stomach beat him to it.

*growl*

"Heheh! Looks like I can't turn down such an invitation in those kinda moments." The two of them laughed and headed to the Shopping District where they would have some Ramen at Aiya.

_~Shopping District, Chinese Diner Aiya, after school~_

The two teenagers were enjoying their Ramen bowls at the local Chinese restaurant. They ate quietly when Kanji spoke.

"Man, I'm starving for some Chinese! But if I eat then go home; I won't finish mom's food. She serves so much you'd think I have five brothers."

"Could it be that you're eating THAT much, usually?" his friend joked.

"Hah! Real funny, Senpai." As the two high-school kids were about to get back to their meals, a middle aged man entered the restaurant. He eyed Kanji for a moment before speaking to him.

"Are you Kanji Tatsumi? What are you doing here?" the emperor stared at him with an annoyed expression before replying.

"Can't you tell?" he asked. Then, he noticed that the man standing in front of him was actually one of the local policemen, he became even more annoyed by his presence here "Hey, you're a cop. Whaddaya mean, what am I doing here?"

"Just what I said. There's been quite a lot of commotion around here lately." The mid-aged man said, apparently accusing the tough guy of being involved in some mess of some sort. That just made the teen angrier.

"Well maybe if you did your job, things'd be quieter, huh?"

"Y-You need to fix that attitude… Oh well, just don't pull anything, got it?" with that, the police officer left Aiya, probably to eat somewhere else.

"Asshole…" the freshman cursed.

"Don't tell me this kind of things happens often." The leader asked.

"Every now 'n then: As soon as a cop spot me it's 'What're you doing here?' 'You look suspicious.' And alla that bullshit!" the angry youth tried to calm a little and then apologized "Sorry, Senpai. I'm just a troublemaker: For you… And for mom. She's always apologizing for me. She's been sprouting more and more white hairs…"

"You just need to change a little, man." Narukami said, encouraging him to move forward. To which, Tatsumi just nod earnestly.

Silence fall again between them before the lower class student said with determination "I'm gonna use that new power of mine to make this town peaceful! I've been causing nothing but trouble, but now I can finally return the favor! So let's get to it Senpai!"

"Got it! Just don't get angry too easily, it will be a good start." The Fool said smiling at how his partner was now getting enthusiastic _'It's a good thing, I guess.'_ He thought.

"Hey, Chief, serve me another bowl." Ordered Kanji.

"You ordered something, Kan-chan?"

"I told you not to call me Kan-chan! And I want you to serve me another Ramen bowl! I'm gonna tear your store apart so fast you won't have time to file for an insurance!" after hearing this, his leader stared at him to remind him of his challenge which caused him to reformulate his words.

"Uh I-I mean, I'll tear it apart and rebuild it twice as good! I-I'm gonna RENOVATE your ass!" that last part of his sentence made his friend laugh so hard he could be compared to a certain Hyena.

"W-What so funny about that, Senpai?!"

After finishing their meals, they parted ways to return to their homes.

_~Dojima Residence, evening~_

When Yu entered the Dojima residence, he found his uncle who was having dinner with his bit—PARTNER!

"Ah, you're back." Dojima greeted.

"Yup, hi uncle, hi Adachi-san!"

"Hi there!" the young police officer replied. "You want some eel, too? Fair warning: it's from the supermarket."

"Well, excuse me." Said his superior who was getting tired of hearing him saying this over and over.

"I-It's delicious, though! I can't believe it was on sale!" to this, the mid-aged man gave him a look that meant something like _'Don't push this any further!'_ Then, he turned to face his nephew and said.

"Sorry, but this guy eats instant noodles every day. That constant slurping got on my nerves, so I called him here."

"C'mon, sir! No need to hide it: all you wanted was to eat dinner with a coworker." Enthusiastically said Adachi.

"Don't be stupid!"

"But eel was a great choice! Nanako-chan loved it, at least. I'd say she's eel-ly proud of her daddy!"

_~meanwhile, in Hell~_

A middle-aged man with curly long brown hair and glasses was watching through a crystal ball what was happening in the livings' world, and more precisely, in the Dojima Residence.

He was watching the whole scene while wiping the tears of happiness cooling down his cheeks with a handkerchief "*sniff* THIS is my heir, my fated successor! As they: early birds catch the bookworms!"

"Ah! There you are, grandpa." This voice belonged to someone standing behind the said grandpa. Slowly, he turned to face whoever addressed him.

They were actually two people: a topless man with curly blond hair and a blue haired guy with glasses.

"We still didn't repay you properly FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO US WHEN WE WERE KIDS!" the blue haired nerd shouted, getting ready to fight along with his friend.

In front of this, the middle aged man began walking back while looking at his aggressors who were getting closer to him "No! No, no… Nooooooooooo!"

_~back to the Dojima Residence~_

"Eh? Ehhhh ? Haha…" Adachi was pretty embarrassed after noticing that nobody was laughing at his joke.

'_I'm surrounded by imbeciles'_ was what the young Narukami was thinking at this moment.

"Did my joke slip away? It is an eel, after all…" Now, Dojima was having enough of those stupid jokes.

"Just eat your dinner."

"Y-Yes, sir! Nanako-chan's such a good girl, though. She went straight to do her homework once her plate was clean. It's not every day you get to eat eel. You'd think she would have spent some more time savoring it."

"You think that because you slack off too much. You should follow her example."

"Ugh, way to hit where it hurts…" Yu didn't look like it, but he was manifesting superhuman efforts not to release a comment about this.

The elder detective noticed that his nephew had something say, so he asked him straight what it was "You look like you have something to say. What is it?"

That alone helped the silverette to remember why he was here the whole time "Ah, yes! I wanted to tell you about a certain topic."

"And what is that topic?"

"Motorcycles."

"Motorcycles?" the police officer repeated, analyzing what the teenager wanted to say "Oh, you mean, like a scooter? It true kids your age can rid those…"

"Yeah, I was thinking: it wouldn't be too bad for me to get one." the bratty protagonist said directly. His uncle thought for a moment, apparently not sure if he should approve or not.

"C'mon, don't be a spoilsport. It's no surprise he wants one, out here I understand how you feel, since I'm from the city as well: walking around everywhere is pretty inconvenient, isn't it?" Adachi said, supporting Yu's idea.

"Sure thing!"

"Yea, it's criminal." The last word alone made Dojima think a little more about the question at hand.

"You say that, but still…"

"Oh! It reminds me! You did tell me once something about all the reckless things you did on your motorcycle when you were young, Dojima-san." *play a dramatic sound: DUN DUN DUN* the Jester's comment made his superior turn to him as if he revealed some nasty stuff his daughter has been doing (A/N: couldn't think of a better comparison)

"Ohfreakin'goddammitADACHI!" the ex-thug stood and gave his partner an unrealistic punch on the head.

Then, he turned to face his shocked nephew while waving his hands in front of him and almost yelled while panicking, "D-D-Don't trust a single word of what he said! I never did that! NEVER!"

Too late: the young man was already imagining things about his uncle, as he is now, being in a biker gang.

_~Yu's imagination~_

Outside of the Dojima Residence, the dark street was almost completely empty. Then, a motor sound was heard and a bike parked in front of the residence. It was a black big monster and its rider was also dressed in leather jacket and pants that were matching his motorcycle's color.

Quickly, the biker got off of it and removed his helmet, revealing his face: it was Dojima, but his face was covered with scares, he surely got them in one of his gang fights, and his facial expression was different. He looked more brutal and a lot less understanding.

He made his way to the house's door and violently opened it. He walked past the wooden floor of the entrance, not even leaving his dirty boots there. When he arrived in the living room, he found his daughter who was singing over and over the Junes commercial song.

"Everyday's great at your Junes!" the little girl was all happy, stuck in her dreamland and didn't notice the presence of her father. The latter snapped her out of her reverie by yelling at her.

"Nanako! What are you doing there?! I'll (censored) punch you in the guts!" his harsh voice frightened the poor child who jumped back, falling in the process. The mid-aged biker made his way to the table and sat on the floor. Shortly after that, his cold stare rested once again on Nanako.

"Get me my booze!" commanded Dojima, an order that his daughter immediately executed. The little girl reached the fridge and opened it, searching for her daddy's source of pleasure. When she found it, she rushed to the table and gave the abusive father what he wanted. As the latter was consuming his drink, he couldn't help but notice that Nanako was giving him puppy eyes: another thing he hated to see from her, it almost made him feel guilty.

He dropped his 'booze' and began yelling at his daughter and hitting the table with his fist, causing the child to put her hands in front of her face in a defensive way, closing her wet eyes "Nanako! Nanako, Nanako! Why, Nanako, why, why are you staring, Nanako? Stop, your child eyes are running my Buzz (I think he wanted to say 'pause') Go away Nanako! Go away! Daddy wants some du… Time alone! Daddy wants *snores*"

The crying girl opened a cautious eye, then the other: her father stopped scolding her and fall asleep.

*Pip**Pip**Pip* the sound of a phone brought the silver-haired young man back to reality.

_~End of Yu's imagination~_

*Pip**Pip*Pip*

Dojima's phone was heard and he quickly took, still panicking about the previous stuff that had happened to him. When he saw the name written on it, his expression magically switched from crazy to serious, and he pressed the 'reply' touch.

"Dojima speaking… Uh-huh… I see… We'll be right there!" he cut off the communication "Good thing I skipped the booze." Right after he whispered the B word, Yu cringed back, still thinking about the scenario he imagined.

"Adachi, you were the one responsible for that file, right?"

"Um? File…? Oh! Did that suspicious guy show up again?"

"Keep your mouth shut for a change! We're going back. Get in the car." Adachi was not tempted by the idea of going back to work immediately.

"B-But…"

"No buts! Hurry up and move it!" the Jester didn't argue any longer and rushed outside to wait for his superior.

The mid-aged man, however, faced Yu and asked him once more about the scooter license he wanted to get "Did you decide on this yourself? No one talked you into it?" he just earned a nod from the teenager. He could have dropped the discussion (more like an interrogation, if you ask my opinion), but he preferred to go with a clear conscious, so he told him about the risks of driving a two-wheeled vehicle.

"I'm sure I can handle it! Trust me!" the youth said confidently.

"I'm sure I can trust you to do that. But allowing you to get one is another thing… We'll talk about it again once you get your license." With that, he finally left the house, leaving Yu who not long after the door closed behind Dojima got a call. When he saw the name of the person calling him, he decided to try a joke he learned on TV once.

"Hello, you're in the psychiatric hospital of Inaba. Dr. Narukami speaking." Yosuke seemed to take the joke quite well. He even responded faking a panic state.

"Hello? It's about one of my friends: when we hang out in our 'special world', he happens to watch blankly in a precise spot sometimes, and when we try to get his attention, he ignores us!" At first, the silverette didn't get what he was saying, so he continued this game.

"Don't worry; it's a common case of imbecility, I recommend that you " then he stopped, finally understanding it: his friend was referring to him when he enters the Velvet Room! The brunette burst laughing after his leader understood.

"Dude! You just called yourself an imbecile without noticing! Hahahahah!" At that moment, the sentence of a certain detective clown popped in the head of the 'imbecile' _'Way to hit where it hurts…'_

"Yeah yeah… Laugh all you want, Noobcake! Anyways, I told my uncle about the scooter license." He instantly turned off his hyena mode and became his excited self again.

"So, how did it go? What did he say?"

"Hey, calm down! So, he said that we'll talk about it again when I get my license."

"Seriously?! Awsome! Let's get our licenses as soon as we can! Tomorrow, we'll be meeting at the exam site! Let'shitthebooksnow, seeya!" He hanged up. The exited teen spoke so fast that his poor leader could barely understand what he said.

Yu still was wondering about the 'suspicious guy' Adachi mentioned earlier, but of course he had no way to learn more. He, instead, prepared to pass his test for tomorrow. He would not want just Yosuke to be getting a scooter license while he would take a simple bicycle and toy with it.

_~Shopping District, after school~_

The next day, after school, the two first male IT members went to the exam site and took the test. Obviously, it was very easy. But what did you expect? The two of them revised with all their hearts, it wouldn't have been the same if has been for school, though

In the end, they got their licenses with flying colors! They took the bus back home and landed feet in the shopping district.

They began walking when they saw a certain mid-aged policeman in front of Moel gas station. They decided to go and meet him. Plus, they couldn't avoid him since he noticed them already.

"Hi, are you on duty?" asked Yosuke.

"We just stopped by to get gas. And, well, to take care of some minor business. Where did you guys go?" he asked.

"Oh, to get this!" the silver-haired teen said while showing his scooter license. If they were in some kind of anime show (which is quite where they ACTUALLY are), his uncle's jaw would have dropped to the ground.

"Already?! I know it is just a written test to get a scooter license, but still, I wasn't expecting you to pass so soon…"

The detective began scratching his head before resuming "Oh well, looks like I'd better find a way to convince my sister…" Yu began laughing nervously after the mention of one of his parents.

"Trust me; it won't be a hard thing to do." He said, remembering how his parents don't really care about what he does.

"Yes! You got the okay! I need to head home and read through the catalog! See you tomorrow!" Yosuke said, waving goodbye to his partner and his uncle and rushing to his home.

"Looks like I should head home, too." Said the young Narukami, making his way out of the Shopping District. As he began walking back, Dojima called him.

"Hey, mind if I borrow you a sec before you leave?"

"Hm? Sure, what's up?" the older man looked in the station's way and called his partner. The latter joined them, dragging something behind him. At the sight of the object, Yu's eyes widened and a smile began to draw on his face.

"This is my scooter," the ex-biker said, drawing his nephew's attention "I had it fixed at the shop. It may be old, but it runs pretty well. I came to put gas in it, but I was far from expecting to hand it over today, too " The teenager analyzed the mechincal beast: it was a white scooter that, despite being old, it looked very well maintained. Only people with an incredible passion for such engines could keep them that way over years! He didn't wait too long before voicing his thoughts about it.

"Now that's a nice bike! Nice job for keeping it well equipped for all those years!" No need to precise that the police officer was flattered by the compliments he was getting.

"You can tell? I had the repair guys at work helping me fix it in secret." Then he stopped, realizing what he said "Ah… Don't tell anyone that, okay?"

Adachi, who has been left aside during the discussion, expressed the need of speaking by… speaking "You're always so strict at the station, but you're a cool dad inside, huh?"

"Goddammit Adachi, shut up!" Dojima shout in the usual hero/comic-relief way. This caused the said comic-relief to give him puppy eyes while complaining.

"You always yell at me but still, it would be good we had that kind of means of transportation: the suspicious guy has been using professional-quality cameras to take pictures of people's houses from the Amagi Inn to around here. Plus, I pretty much bet he knows the back streets, so cars won't be—"

"Go back to the car, RIGHT NOW!" ordered the superior, not wanting to use the hard ways. His partner didn't argue and ran to get inside the vehicle.

"You know what?" Dojima said, addressing Yu "I was around your age when I got my license, but I did it behind my parents' back When my father found out, he gave a good thrashing." The last bit of information made the silverette chuckle a bit.

"Oh, and, don't tell Nanako about it, okay?" the two of them laughed even more now, proof that Yu completely forgot where his 'imagination' went last night.

"Be sure to ride it carefully: if you do so, I'll look the other way if you decide to ride it out of town. Can you promise me?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

"Good, then I'll hold you to that." The two men talked some more before the older one got back to his car and join the Jester while the younger one took the road leading home.

_~Dojima Residence, evening~_

As Yu stepped inside the leaving room, he was warmly greeted by his cousin. They both sat to watch some quiz show on TV.

About half an hour later, Dojima came back home and he wanted to have a talk with the silverette. They sat and the police officer began the discussion "Back at the police station, I heard that, well… You guys have been hanging out a lot around Junes, lately." At that mention, the nephew began panicking.

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. The real question is: What are you guys doing all day in the electronic department?!" now, the silver-head was sure about it: he was swimming in his own sweat. As he was preparing a reply to protect his secret, Nanako came to, indirectly, save him.

"Daaaad…"

"I-It's not what you think, I'm not interrogating him."

"It's not fair! You're always talking with big bro!"

"But, I always talk with you too…"

"When is 'always'…?" that innocent question of the girl sure had an impact on her father.

"I… I wanna talk." Nanako was rubbing her eyes sleepily as she spoke, so her dad told her what she had to do.

"*sigh* It's bedtime for you already. I'll play with you next time."

"…You promised." After that, Nanako reluctantly returned to her room, leaving Dojima and her big bro in an awkward silence. Dojima, however, broke that silence by thinking loudly.

"…When is always…?" Yu decided to ask him a question.

"Uncle?"

"What is it?"

"Why don't you play with her? It's only natural she reacts like this."

"It's because…" he looked away, maybe in shame "I'm busy…"

The Fool looked at him as he lowered his head even more, grimacing. Then, he spoke again.

"Truth is, I mostly left raising her up to my wife; her mother…" He then raised his face to look at his nephew straight in the eyes "That's why I don't really know how to approach her."

As much as Dojima's tried to hide it, his eyes were beginning to get red and wet and he barely managed to say those words "Plus I'm not fit to be her family."

Narukami's honesty prevented him from telling him otherwise, but he had to tell him that he couldn't just run away from his daughter. _'D-Dad, Mom… Are you two also feeling like Dojima-san? Do you feel guilt deep inside your hearts?'_

"Fit or not, you're family!" the teenager said, not noticing that he got up of his seat. "You can't just look the other way now, can you?! To her, you're her father and she needs you!" the fact that the teen raised his voice made his uncle look at him surprised, but only for a short moment since he look down again and said emotionlessly.

"You're right…" he paused for some seconds before resuming, "But, if you think that just being related by blood means that you're 'family' Then know that it isn't the case." At this, the young silver haired man's muscles relaxed in desperation; he knew there was no way to make his uncle think otherwise right now.

"Sorry…" the mid-aged man said, apologizing "You didn't need to hear about that. Get some sleep. 'Night."

This time, Yu didn't respond and headed straight to his room where he immediately fell asleep. A sleep full of painful memories of the past.

_~Yu's Dream~ (Music: Thème Tapion Flûte)_

"Mom! Dad! Why do you have to go to Hong Kong? You already went there last month!" A silver-haired kid was speaking with his parent: a mid-aged man with black hair and a woman with silver hair that he inherited from, probably. The three members of the family were sitting on a couch, in the living room and the child just learned that his parents would be away for the second time in one week.

"But we have to, Yu. It's our job and we have to settle things there." The silverette woman explained.

"Plus," his father said, entering in the conversation "You won't be alone: you'll spend the most time of your days at school and if you need something, there is the maid."

The young Narukami didn't agree with his dad because: one, he was bored at school due to him having no friend. And two, because the old maid always scared him with her strict expression. He tried one last time to protest.

"B-But you promised that you would stay with me the whole month."

"We did," the female Narukami said, looking at her son with sadness in her eyes "but you have to understand that your father and I have to go, the same way you have to go to school. Plus, we'll be back before you know it."

"That's unfair! If you really loved me, you would stay here with me!" that last attempt of rebellion earned the poor Yu a slap from his father that surprised him and his mother who put a hand in front of her mouth.

"Don't you hear what we say?! We have important business and you are just sitting here and complaining?! If we told you that we would be back soon, then we are telling you the truth!" at that moment, the older Narukami stopped yelling at his son and ordered him more calmly to go back to his room, to which the child obeyed.

As the door closed behind him, he let his body fall on his bed and he cried all the tears his small body contained. Physically, he wasn't hurt; his father controlled his strength a bit. The place where he was really hurt, the place where he was actually bleeding, was somewhere else, inside him: his heart.

The fact that his own father used violence on him both physically AND verbally was too much for him to handle. It wasn't the first time, though. Without it being a frequent habit. It just did occur sometimes. And it was during those times that the petit child was feeling rejected by life itself.

"*sob* T-T-They *sob* Are j-just… LIARS*sob*" as he said those words with all the difficulty of the world, Yu was thinking of many things like: running away from home and never coming back or even disappearing from that world. That's how he spent the night in a bath of his own tears.

The actual Yu Narukami was watching all these pictures of a long forgotten past through his dream. He too, in the real world, was feeling a warm liquid spreading across his cheeks. He too was feeling his heart ache like no other wound could make it do. But, as the last image of him falling asleep on his bed was getting darker and darker and as his vision began blurring, he heard a voice pronounce something.

"I don't wanna remember!" this was voice the silverette recognized to be his, but it was a little different, as if it was swallowed by the darkness. After that, nothing was left...

_(Music: Dive into the heart- Kingdom Hearts)_

When Yu was able to distinguish something again, he was in a grey space and he felt that he was falling, slowly, slowly... Until he landed on a surface.

When he got on his feet, he did feel that he was standing on the ground, but it was invisible: the grey space was everything around him and the silence was ruling in this place, as if he was the only living being left in the world as if he has been sucked into another dimension: The void!

He began walking, walking… Where? Nowhere, actually. He didn't know if he, actually, was moving at all.

*sob**sob*

He heard someone in the distance, someone crying. He followed the sound, curious, and he saw a black point in the horizon. He sped up his rhythm of walk, until he arrived near the thing. There, he stopped and his eyes widened in disbelief. He felt his blood freeze and a chill went down his spin.

There, sitting on nothing and with his back facing him, was none other than… His Shadow! What surprised the youth the most was that he was the one crying earlier.

Yu didn't know what to do: go and meet him, or turn back and run as fast as he came. He didn't have the time to choose an option, though. He saw his Shadow's head turn around to face him and opened his mouth, slowly, to let escape those words.

"Sometimes, when you have nobody to share your pain with, you'd rather share them with 'yourself', right?" he marked a stop, before proposing "Why don't you have a seat, here, with me?"

The human self was most of all shocked; he did expect to meet his other half one day. But, for that day to be so near and for the Shadow to actually address him with such serenity: It was unbelievable! The silver-head hesitated for a moment before moving a step forward, then a second, then a third… Until he found himself next to his darker side and sitting, at a meter from him, at most.

They sat there, near one another, in absolute silence for a minute, or more, or maybe less: who could know in a place where time has no meaning.

"I don't wanna remember…" That sentence cause Yu to turn his attention to his Shadow who proceeded "Isn't what you thought back then?" the bowl-haired opened his mouth to speak, but shut it immediately "You know it yourself, since I'm you and you're me. That is the truth."

"As Shadows, all what you know and say is the truth! You never have to question yourself about who you really are!" The said Shadow stared angrily as his counterpart spoke, putting venom in every word he pronounce "All what you and the ones of your kind want is power that you get from your powerless other halves that'll reject you."

He stared back at the being of the darkness, silent for a moment "It is so easy for you to control us like your puppets," the both of them had their fists tightly clenched, fighting with their strong, dangerous gaze. It wasn't so long before the silverette resumed talking "…Lucky you!"

This time the Shadow had enough; he quickly got to his feet and, with a fast movement of his hands, grabbed his other half's collar and raised him to his level. He held him so close that they could feel each others' breaths.

It would practically be an understatement to say that Yu was surprised by this reaction, but he still didn't expect to have his way with what he just said. He tried his best to hide his fear, but his eyes couldn't lie; especially not to himself.

Shadow Yu finally spoke without breaking eye contact with the other silver-head "You're the one to speak like that! You really think it's that easy to be a Shadow?! You think truth's THAT MUCH of a fun thing, when it is thrown square in your face?! Us, LUCKY Shadows that we are, have NO WAY to see the pain otherwise while you, 'true selves' just have to cowardly submit and change your point of view to erase your sorrow!"

The protagonist was feeling that the hands grabbing his collar were trembling in anger, the golden-eyed thing barely catch his breath before resuming his reproaches "And on top of that, we are the ones accused of being the assholes?! We are the ones 'stealing' your powers?! Trust me: if I have desired my full strength back, I would have had my way long ago!" with that, he pushed him away violently, still staring daggers at him.

The Fool wanted to yell back at his reversed self, but something prevented him from doing so. He just felt wrong, way too wrong. How he addressed with such anger and pain was affecting him more than he thought it actually would.

Then, it strikes him like a flash: the desire of getting to understand the shadow half more. Without noticing it, he closed the distance between them and put a firm hand on his shoulder addressing him a small, but confident, smile "You guys have been through a lot of shit because of us, huh? Man, that's crazy how we're different while still being one person…"

Upon hearing that, Shadow Yu responded to the smile "You seem to be more understanding than I thought, baka."

"Who are you calling a baka, baka?" that cause them to laugh for awhile. They felt more connected after that little conversation "Opening up to yourself really clears a lot of things up off your minds." they thought at the same time.

_Thou art I… And I am thou…_

_Thou hast established a new bond…_

_It brings thou closer to completion…_

_Thou shalt get stronger when powering up_

_The hidden Arcana of the Mirror_

'_The hidden Arcana… of the Mirror?'_ Yu thought, as he had a vision of a golden Tarot Card with black space drawn on it and a white line dividing the card into two parts. On each side, two hands could be seen extending to reach the white line to finally have their index fingers touching it at the same level.

The silverette was taken out of his reverie by the sound of his counterpart who was coughing "*cough* Urgh…!"

"W-What's up with you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Now go; it doesn't look like it, but time passes in you world." Before the teen could reply, the Mirror Arcana initiator remembered something "Oh and, when you'll wake up tomorrow, you'll have a surprise…" by the time he finished his sentence, the grey space around them began darkening and the Wild Card bearer's vision blurred again, before he finally loosed sight of his Shadow.

* * *

_**To think that I was about to write a 100% hilarious chapter and decided to add this scene, I have to confess that I almost cried: I, as OOC Yu's writer, am surprised by how he's evolving. I hope that you get that feeling too, guys, and that you voice your opinion through Reviews and PM!**_

_**I'd really like to thank Defog2000 for editing that chapter… Do check his fanfics!**_

_**_Defog2000: Hi all, Defog2000 here. Once again I have edited this great chapter by KeyToUnivers, sorry I have not been updating like him as usual. My computer broke T.T I may write again in December. But now, pls do review this great fanfic!**_

_**_KeyToUnivers : Thanks, partner! We're all excited to see the new chapter of FQOB which is also a great story you're writing!**_

_**_Defog2000: By the way, why are holding this pair of scissors and this gel?**_

_**_KeyToUnivers: I'm going to RENOVATE Yu's haircut, it's time for him to get new hair-style! Anyways, thanks for reading and stay tuned!**_


	14. Another

_**After 100,000 years, here comes the 13**__**th**__** cursed chapter! Why 'cursed'? Because it gotta be the chapter that encountered the most troubles coming out, so far. First, I had a sever lack of motivation to write through half of the year. Then, when I FINALLY wrote and finished it, back on July, my PC's internal HDD broke; forcing me to replace it… and obviously I couldn't save the completed chapter. After such a thing, I was too lazy to get back to work and… school started, again, with the awful amount of homework to do. Finally, when I found back the motivation and inspiration, I started writing it from scratches… until I eventually got sick for no obvious reasons and needed some rest.**_

_**Anyways, it is out, now. I hope you guys will understand and that you will still enjoy the chapter because today... we're going to discover *drum roll sound*:**_

* * *

**XIII\ Another…**

_**~Dojima's Residence – Yu's Room~**_

Yu lazily woke up from his slumber with an aching and heavy head. As he sat on his futon, he began massaging his temples, trying to lower the pain.

'_Man, I guess that's the consequence of having too many social links… I wonder how much I will last before going mad' _He thought.

'_**Probably nothing: You might already be mad'**_ Yu's eyes widened as he heard a voice coming from his head.

'_Man! Those voices in the head, again?! Won't they ever give me a break for a change?!' _

'_**Hahahah! Didn't I tell you that you would get a surprise, earlier?'**_ that sentence made the silverette realize something: now it made sense!

'_So it's you! How the hell—?'_ He couldn't finish that sentence thought since his Shadow cut him in the middle of it.

'_**It just happened when we initiated the Mirror Arcana: it seems that now, we're more connected to each other, if you see what I mean.' **_He explained.

'_Ooookay…'_ they stayed in silence for a moment.

...

'_**Today's not Sunday, y'know?'**_ Shadow Yu reminded his other self. Yu stayed on his futon for half a minute before slowly turning to read his watch on the wall. It read 7:20 am.

The grey-haired teen quickly got up and got dressed while cursing _'Shit! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!'_ he ran to the bathroom and washed his face with cold water. After that, he grabbed his toothbrush and put toothpaste on it.

As he was brushing his teeth, he noticed something about himself that was different: his hair! It wasn't his usual bowl-haircut anymore: his hair was longer and spiky with a lock of hair hanging down in front of his face.

_'What. The. Hell. Am I doing with Zack Fair's haircut?!'_ Yu wondered, letting some of the toothpaste falling from his mouth because of the surprise.

_**'I can swear it; I have nothing to do with it… The haircut looks badass, though.'**_ The Shadow said, admiring their new style.

_'Shut up—and, you know? You're actually right: this haircut is much better than my stupid bowl-shaped hair…'_ the silverette admitted in the end.

_**'Stupid? Then why did you have it in the first place?'**_ Yu decided to ignore his Shadow for a moment and he finished brushing his teeth.

He quickly went downstairs to have a quick breakfast, alone: Nanako and Ryotaro were already out. After that, he ran to school at a speed matching the one of his motorcycle.

_**~Samegawa Flood Plain – Yasogami High's path~**_

When Yu finally arrived on the road leading to his school, he noticed that the students were still casually walking down that road, meaning that he still had time before class starts.

"Hey, partner!" said an obviously familiar voice: Yosuke's. Now this meant to hurry before he starts spitting nonsense this early in the morning. Our silver-head friend tried his best to walk faster, but the brunette just had to run a little more to catch up with him.

"Man, can't you wait for me?! You know we need to talk about some important 'stuff' today!" scolded the Magician.

"Really? What 'stuff'?"

"C'mon, you remember the 'up close and personal' plan, don't you?"

"Oh! That plan about showing Kanji's manhood to all the chicks?" Narukami teased.

"Ugh! Not his manhood: our manhood!" he yelled with exasperation, a bit too loud for his own good: now the students walking the same path as them were all looking at him with embarrassing and, more or less, disgusted looks which was understandable: yelling words such as 'manhood' could easily lead to misunderstanding in public places like this one, remember that Japanese people, even the most rebellious teenagers, value their public image more than anything.

Yosuke really looked pitiful in the middle of this crowd with his burning red face, his dumb and embarrassed smile and the sweat spreading through his body. He tried to look away from them, but soon realized that there was no way out, and the strange thing was that Yu, his faithful partner, disappeared from his side and was nowhere near him.

'_With friends like him, I don't need enemies!'_ he thought feeling alone and vulnerable. But thankfully, the other students didn't last long like this: they quickly returned their focus to their original business.

The goof had a long sigh of relief as he felt the temperature of his body slowly falling back to normal, and his heartbeats becoming more stable.

He soon spotted the coward Fool a few meters ahead, walking as if nothing happened back there. Feeling his blood boiling again, but with anger this time, he found himself running towards the unfaithful friend of his.

"Wait up, you moron!" called the brunette.

"Hn?" was the only thing the silverette answered as he turned back to face Yosuke with his casual emotionless face.

"*breathe* you just left me behind, right now: what kind of partner are you?!" he angrily shouted.

"I knew it wouldn't last long, I mean: people are used to hear you spit nonsense from time to time. Let's just go to schoo—" he was stopped in his track by the hands of the Magician grabbing his shirt and bringing him closer to his face (no yaoi… I guess?).

"Listen, silver-head: this is the last time you make fun of me that way, got it? Today, after school, we're going to have a race to Okina Station: the winner's going to be the new boss got it?!"

"C'mon, man, cool dow—"

"Shut up! Now just go: I don't have anything else to tell you." with that, he released Yu from his grip and walked ahead to Yasogami High School, looking pretty mad: only the Wild-Card remained on the road, frozen, shocked by the change of personality of the comic-relief.

'… _**You are the one to blame this time: as much as Yosuke is a fun guy to be around, he's not a pushover and he has a pride.'**_

Yu didn't answer his Shadow: he knew that he went too far with Yosuke and that his jokes were ending up destroying his ego. He was no better than a plain bully with no brain at this moment, and oh was he ashamed to admit it.

'_I'll have to make up for this, somehow. Man, I'm such an asshole…'_ he held his bag above his shoulder and resumed his walk to school, his head slightly bowed with shame and remorse.

In the deepest part of his mind, he could see a bunch of cards of different sizes flying around. One of them, however, shinned more than the others, but not with a bright and clear light; it was an eerie red one that spread around it.

***Crack***

Cracks started to appear on it, making the red light pass through the openings. As the seconds passed, the cracks spread, becoming bigger before the Tarot Card broke, exploding into hundreds of shreds.

That was what happened to the Magician Tarot Card: the symbol of Yu and Yosuke's friendship.

_**~Okina City – Station~**_

After school, what do you think a Yasogami High student can do? He can take part in various club activities as long as he is part of one of them. If he isn't, he can either hang out in Samegawa Flood Plain to enjoy the scenery and the silence of the place, or at Junes for a livelier surrounding and for shopping. He can even attend a part-time job, even though schools usually don't endorse those kinds of activities outside of holidays.

But, Inaba is still a small town, and just like any small town, the options it offers are still limited, and anyone may just get bored of their daily routine, especially if they are High School teenagers seeking to get out of this said routine. And what place could provide better entertainment settings? Yes, the city!

There happens to be a city a couple of kilometers away from Inaba where High School students like to hang out: Okina City.

Upon arriving at the city's station, you are immediately welcomed by a lively and crowded place populated by elderly, adults, teens and children: almost everyone whether they were residents of the city or visitors from other towns.

But to stay with the station's settings, let's start with the Café Chagall which was people's favorite gathering place to discuss after a long day of work. The bookstore and the movie theater '30 frame' were the main cultural places in this city, pretty much what a big reader or a moviegoer would seek. Let's not forget Croco Fur which is the clothing store people, usually women and girls, frequent to buy new clothes, or just to keep up with the fashion news.

And right now, we are in the after school period which means that the students are populating the place more than anyone else, and it is also now that…

"I won!" declared a voice that echoed in the whole station. A person riding a yellow motorcycle along with another one riding a white one appeared in the parking in front of the station's stairs. Both arrived here as fast as light: you could've almost said they teleported due to their lighting speed.

"Eh, I guess it's pretty much a tie, you know?" said the teenager on the white bike, earning a cold glare from his companion.

"Shut up, I didn't ask your opinion."

"Hey, you guys! Wait for me!" called a third voice coming from another teen riding, not a motorcycle like his two friends, but a simple and kind of old bike. The third person, when he reached his stop, was literally sweating bullets because of the efforts he had to put "Phew! Catchin' up with two dudes getting' used to their bikes should be easy, but ya guys seriously…"

The others just left him catch his breath back, as they got up from their bikes.

You might already know that the three teenagers that arrived in Okina were the (human) male members of the Investigation Team. And the two who arrived first were Yu and Yosuke who, as they 'agreed' earlier, raced all the way here. The tension that formed between them didn't seem to lessen as the day passed, leading to that moment of the afternoon.

Chie and even Yukiko and Kanji noticed how upset, the usually goofy, Yosuke was. They tried asking him, then their leader, but neither of them spoke a thing of what happened this morning, leaving them to guess that it could be 'one of these days in a thousand years' for the comic-relief.

"Hey, silver-head." the Magician's voice brought Yu back to reality "The girls won't come to you if all you do is to sit on your ass."

"What?! I thought you wanted us to wait on our bikes and show off."

"No." the brunette pointed him then Kanji with his index finger as he explained "You guys are getting in the way of my 'pheromones'. I'm hunting on my own: the 'real man' wins, good luck anyways."

With that, he started walking away from his two other friends, leaving them with questioning looks on their face, surely to pick up some girls, or at least, try to. Even when he was serious, which, by itself, means something, you couldn't expect much from him when it came to his luck with the opposite gender.

"So, what are we going to do now, Kanji?" Narukami asked.

"Since I came all the way here I was 'bout to go check that shop, but…" he raised his arm and crossed it with the other as usually does when answering to a challenge "After what Yosuke-senpai said, it's my honor that's on the line: I'll show him what real manliness is, dammit!"

"Oh well… good luck with that." as he was talking, the fool walked towards his bike and laid on it, his two arms crossed behind his head acting as a pillow.

"Yeah, thanks senpai! ... Wait a sec! Are you 'bout to sleep or somethin'?!"

"Hn? Oh, let's say I'm trying to offer Yosuke a victory today: he's already mad and stuff, so that might make him feel a bit better." with that, he released one of his hands to grab his helmet that was hanging on his bike's handle "Enjoy hunting."

He placed the helmet on his face to prevent the sun from disturbing him and started his early afternoon nap. Now, Kanji was on his own: his two senpais left him with different ways.

He rubbed the back of his head and sighed "*sigh* Alright, let's get this done with quickly…"

_**~A few minutes later – Kanji's POV~**_

Damn… How da hell did I get dragged in that kinda thing? I followed my senpais all the way to Okina since I was curious to know what the problem with Yosuke-senpai was, but I also wanted to visit that shop… Mom told me that it had some good materials for… a-anyways! I can't lose, or Yosuke-senpai will laugh at me and talk to me as if I was some kinda weirdo.

I guess I can only blame myself for that…

I just passed in front of a cop; he stared at me with a funny expression. What's up with these guys, dammit?! That's why I hate 'em: if they turned their dirty eyes in the 'right' direction, all these murders wouldn't have happened, and that asshole would be behind the jails.

C'mon man, this isn't the first time you've seen a cop. Plus, I'm not here to deal with them, but with the chicks! Now, where are they?

Not that there isn't any girl here, but they're not alone: all already have a guy they're talking with. Not that I have any problem with that, but the senpais told me that I shouldn't pick on 'taken girls' n' stuff, so I'll just look for one who's alone.

I arrived in front of '30 frame' and looked at the entrance: I wonder what they're showin' right now…

…

'_Wait a sec!'_ I thought as I saw somethin' interesting in front of the theater. A movie that was being promoted? Nah, not that. The thing that's worth the glance was a girl standing in front of the theater's entrance… a girl! And she was alone, I guess that counts!

So, Yu-senpai told me a thing or two on how to approach girls 'n stuff one day we were eating a bowl of Ramen. I think he said that I should walk closer and say 'hi'.

'Hi!' I said as I walked toward her. She had her back turned to me, so she didn't see me coming, plus she seemed in some kinda deep thought which didn't help.

I was expecting her to jump at first, but she didn't stop here: she had to cringe back even more AFTER looking at me. What's that supposed to mean?!

"Oh, uh… um- I'm s-sorry!" she apologized, I guess? "Can I help you?"

"Hell yeah! I saw you and wanted to talk with ya 'n stuff."

"Uh!" now she seemed way too surprised to be real, I mean, what are the wide open eyes and mouth for? I ain't gonna eat her or anything!

She brought her right hand to her chest, closed her eyes and started breathing deeply for 'bout one minute, as if she just ran 40 kilometers of marathon and was trying to recover.

"_I must regain my balance now… or else, evil will rush in…"_ she mumbled that to herself, mentioning that 'evil rushing in' and other things like 'calming down and stop panicking'… I swear girls are acting like weirdos sometimes…

"Er, ya alright?" I tried asking. I think her worried expression disappeared a little; she seemed to be smiling more now.

"I'm fine… my soul was saved thanks to God's intervention."

"Yeah… I guess…?"

"Are you aware of this?" she asked in a low voice, looking left 'n right, as if fearing to be heard by someone "At this very moment, our world is filled with demons and despair."

Holy crap! Is she aware of the Shadows' existence? Is she talking 'bout them?

"D-D-Demons?!"

"Yes, they're everywhere! They are trying to invade our souls and fill it with despair and sadness." she seems to be freaking serious 'bout this, but I don't think she's talking 'bout the same demons we see "… Illness, bad luck, accidents; all these come from despair! That must be why you're here."

"Why I'm here? Oh yeah, about this, I wanted to-"

"Your soul's cries of hope brought you to me for help! Don't worry; there is still a path to salvation for you."

"W-What da-?"

"If you pray with me to our God, you will be blessed with a benevolent light that will ease you pains and purify your soul!" she marked a pause, moving her hands in front of her face and then "The time is now! Find your happy place and gain inner joy!"

"Uh, yeah… about that inner joy, I came here to ask you about your phone number." I was finally able to ask the question: man! She left me no room to speak, dammit!

From here joyful face, she immediately moved to the one of a terrified church man to who you would've said out loud 'God doesn't even exist, dumbass.'

"A…phone…number?" She repeated very slowly as if it was hard to understand.

…

…

"Phone number?! You have a phone?!" She suddenly yelled at my face and I was almost scared out of my wits.

"Yeah, I mean, who doesn't?"

"Throw it away! This is the devil's tool: it consumes your soul and fills it with negative energy!"

"What the- Hey, are you drunk or something?! Phones have nothing to do with devil and shit!"

"See? You're already being filled with negative thoughts; that's why you're so violent! Throw it away, NOW!"

I kept arguing back with that crazy chick, but in the end I preferred disappearing from her sight. Without trying to get her phone number any longer since she don't even have one to begin with… looks like I failed my part of the contest: now Yosuke-senpai will go back to making those retard jokes about my attractions…

God dammit…

…

_**~Not so far from here – Yosuke's POV~**_

"So, what now?" I asked to myself as I randomly walked around Okina's streets, looking around.

It's supposed to be easy, right: find a girl, chat with her, get her in the mood and then ask her to give me her phone number… well, when I say it's easy, I mean more in my mind than in reality. What to say first thing in the conversation? What topic should I choose? Which girls are single and which ones are not? Damn! Picking up chicks isn't as easy as I thought, but I'm the one who brought up this idea, didn't I? And all of this because of that 'fool' who doesn't know how to treat people who consider him their friend.

It isn't just any random contest here… oh no, it isn't. By the time we meet again, Yu Narukami, I will have a phone number given to me by a hot chick, and there I'll show you what a REAL man is made of-

***plop***

'_What the hell landed on my shoulder? Is it starting to rain?'_ I wondered as I looked above: the sky is clear of any cloud, so I don't think it was rain, after all.

"Coo… Coo…" and that was the sound of a bird up there… Wait, does that mean… DOES THAT MEAN?!

I could feel my eyes being wide open at the deduction I had in my head. I slowly turned my face to my right shoulder's direction and rested my glance on my shirt. My clean, white T-shirt had a disgusting dark green stain. D-D-D-Did that stupid bird shit on me just now?!

"CooOOoh." is it mocking me on top of this?! Damn, I need to clear that, or I can say goodbye to the girls!

Look, I need money in case they want me to buy them something, but they'll never listen to me seriously if I have shit on my shoulders, so I guess here goes my hard earned allowance…

I discreetly walked inside 'Croco Fur' shop which was, thankfully, a couple of feet away from me.

I originally have nothing against pigeon, but I think started from today on, they'll be the first thing I'll kill in my next FPS game sessions…

_**~One hour later – Back to the bike parking – Yu's POV~**_

…

"Mhhm…" I'm awake, it seems. I open my eyes and-

'_Dark…'_ I thought, as I raised my and grabbed my helmet which I put in front of my face earlier _'That feels better.'_

I took a sitting pose on my bike that replaced my futon for a moment. By the way, how long did I sleep?

I raised my head to the sky and noticed that the sun was closer to the horizon than before I closed my eyes: are the others still here, chasing girls down? I turned to my left and saw Yosuke's orange motorcycle and Kanji's bike.

'_Still at it, huh? Should I wait some more here?'_ Nah, I slept enough, I guess. Plus, it's only the second or third time I come to Okina, so I guess a walk around won't do me any harm, right?

I jumped off of my motorcycle and started moving my muscle to warm them up a little after these few hours of inactivity.

"Now, where should I go?" I asked myself as look left and right, but my face turned back to the left side for some reasons.

'_I've never taken that district, should I give it a try?'_ indeed, there is that corner after Croco Fur that leads to an isolated residential district; its road didn't lead anywhere and was ending up in a cul-de-sac. I don't have any business there, so I don't think I'll take this way… or so I thought.

At the rotary of this road, standing at the beginning of the new street, was someone that caught my attention; someone familiar that I've met several days ago. He was looking in front of him, as if hesitating to walk further or maybe not confident enough to walk forward. Maybe he's trying to make sure nobody sees him.

'_**You're really going to follow him?'**_ asked a voice that left me alone for a few hours.

'_That guy's got something weird, I feel uneasy just looking at him.'_

'_**Are you gay?'**_ what the hell did he just ask?!

'_Not in your life!'_

'_**Not in yours either… Anyways, I think he's really about to move: you'll follow him or not?'**_

My Shadow is right; that dude has finally started walking inside the other street and disappeared: I should also go before I lose his track.

I walked to the corner and pressed my back on the wall, looking behind it. The guy was still walking forward, in the residential area. What if I was bothering for nothing? I mean, maybe he's just a socially awkward kid who has nothing better to do of his life than asking other guys out. Plus, it's a residential district, so maybe he lives somewhere here.

I decided to watch his every move even with that in mind and watched as he casually walked in the calm, and somewhat deserted, streets until he eventually took, at the end of the line, another suspicious rotary: the one that leads to the dead end.

'…_Is he an idiot?'_

'_**Yeah: what if Pedobear appears out of nowhere and-'**_

'_Hold it right here. Plus, we say 'Teddie', now.'_

'_**I thought Teddie was more interested in girls.'**_

'_Maybe he is, maybe he isn't.' _as I was having that unconstructive talk with my other self, I started walking down the empty street and quietly took cover behind the wall at the end of the road. I slowly made my head turn to see behind the corner to see what happened to the weirdo.

What I found behind was something so unexpected that it almost made gasp in surprise and that would've betrayed my position right away.

I could feel my heart race inside of my chest, as my eyes were examining the portrait in front of them: the guy, who, in case I didn't precise it enough earlier, is the one that asked Kanji out after he was shown on the Midnight Channel. He is the same blue haired kid who gave me the information that helped us localizing our delinquent friend. It is the mysterious boy with the hat that has intrigued me for a moment.

Then what is the reason of my surprise, you ask? It isn't him being in front of a dead end that keeps my mind busy, oh no. It is the thing that he's facing. A dead end? Not only that.

Where there was a dead end, I saw something else that I knew so well, a shining and unknown source of power that I always sought for explanations. The cul-de-sac was made of a high enough wall made of red bricks that were cracked, surely due to the fact they were old. They mustn't have been painted in ages: you could hardly believe there was such a thing near the station of a modern city such as Okina. There was supposed to be nothing here, not even garbage.

Yet, there it was, with its brilliant blue light, the door only I could see: the door of the Velvet Room!

'_I-Is he staring where I think he is?! No, nobody other than I can see that freaking door, so what's happening?'_ as I was having an inner dilemma, the bluenette walked toward the Velvet Room door, seemed to stare at it for a few seconds that seemed to me like an eternity. He then raised his hand to the doorknob, held it and…

***Creeeeeak***

The sound of the door creaking as the guy opened it was filling the place, time seemed to have stopped around us as the dazzling white light emerged from the blue door and blinded me, preventing me from seeing what happened between that moment and the moment I could open my eyes again.

When I recovered the use of my sight, the door was still here, closed, and the boy vanished as if he never existed in the first place.

"*gulp* creepy…" I muttered, as I stared at the spot where the slim boy was standing a few moments ago, still hiding behind the wall even though nobody could see me anymore.

For some reasons, my Shadow didn't make any comment, but I could feel his golden eyes staring at me, asking me whether I would go back on my steps and pretend I've seen nothing, or…

'_Screw it!'_ I thought as I got out of my hiding spot, walking toward the Velvet Room door. The door I used to walk toward with confidence and, when I had something important to do, with excitement, was now scaring me more than anything: it felt as if every time I lifted a foot forward, it was weighting twice the size of my whole body.

After two minutes or something like this, I finally was at an inch from it. I could feel my legs and arms shaking like a leaf, I could also feel my face burning and sweat streaming down on it.

'_It's not too late to get back from where I was… This didn't happen, right? This… didn't… happen…'_

Nobody saw me coming here. Heck! They don't even see this door, so I could just go back to my motorcycle and continue my nap until Kanji and Yosuke are back.

…

So why am I still here?

Why am I paralyzed in front of that door?

Why is my body trembling and disobeying my brain's orders?

…And why am I so scared?

Without knowing it, my right hand rose to the doorknob and grabbed it, not doing anything else.

'_What if he knew about me all along?'_ I wondered

_'What if leading me here was his plan? Does he have something to do with the case?_ _Is he the one behind everything?'_I hummed softly in thought as many questions appeared and started to fill up my head.

…As if it was not full enough with crazy stuff already…

When my deductions brought me, once more, to the cases of Inaba, almost all my fears disappeared and were replaced by a strange feeling in my heart.

Turning that doorknob… what if this simple action was what it would take to catch a murderer and end a series of deaths and tragedies? And if not, what if this action would, at least, bring me closer to that bastard? Is there only one culprit? Will all this finally stop after that visit?

I clenched my fist on the doorknob and started turning it, with a weird mixture of anxiety and determination: if I've come this far, I don't think moving back on my steps will be easier than moving forward.

***Creeeeeak***

Eventually, the blue door started opening, leaving the blinding white light escape from it and engulf my entire.

"Culprit or not, here I come!"

* * *

_**A/N: That's it! After one year of waiting, here you have the thirteenth chapter (now we know why this number is considered 'cursed')**_

_**_OOC Yu: I wonder what I'll find in the next chapter…**_

_**_Defog2000: Hey, speaking of which… I am… the culprit! *Dramatic music***_

_**_Yu: N-N-No… It's not true… That's IMPOSSIBLE!**_

_**_KeyToUnivers: *watching the scene while eating chips* Yup, he's right!**_

_**_Yu: NOOOOOOOOOOoooo…**_

_***Yu totally stops moving and KTU tries shaking him***_

_**_KTU: Good job, you destroyed another OOC Yu: you should know they are rare to find.**_

_**_Defog2000: *Eats some of the chips* Well… I didn't know they were THAT fragile.**_

_**_KTU: Anyways, that'll be it for now. See you all for chapter 14**__**th**__**… NEXT YEAR!**_

_**_Defog2000: Wait, are you serious?!**_

_**_KTU: No, I hope the next chapter comes as soon as possible, or at least that it doesn't take as long as this one. Anyways, I want to thank my partner, Defog2000, for his help with this chapter: do check his stories too!**_


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